eli5- Why cant we including cancer screening with our annual physical every year?

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Every year in the US most americans get an annual physical from our doctor if we have insurance. It usually consists of getting some bloodwork done, vitals basic questions etc. Then going over those results and any concerns you may have and nothing else.

I always hear those horror stories of people just all of a sudden being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and theres nothing that can be done. Maybe im missing something.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

There are a lot of different kinds of cancer and hence a lot of different screening tests involved. Doctors will usually order routine screening that is most effective at identifying the most common types of cancer as people get older or at higher risk.

In addition, not everyone gets their annual physical, and many types of cancer, especially aggressive types, can grow from unnoticeable to very serious in much less time than a year.

As a result, annual physicals don’t, and can’t, test everyone for every kind of cancer.

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