Cancer Screening
A person’s risk of cancer depends on many different things. There are some that we can’t change like having a family history or a genetic risk and getting older. But there are other things we can do to try and reduce the risk. Research shows that things like stopping smoking and keeping a healthy weight can reduce the risk of cancer. These also help to reduce the risk of other illnesses and support our overall health and well-being.
It is important to be aware of the early signs and symptoms that could indicate cancer, especially if you are at higher risk. In general, the earlier a cancer is found, then the better the outcome.
For this reason it is also vitally important to take up screening when you are offered it. Cancer screening aims to spot cancers (and sometimes pre-cancerous changes - in the case of cervical cancer) very early on before there are any symptoms or signs.
There is information on what increases (and what reduces) cancer risk, early signs and symptoms to watch out for, and the screening programmes on the Cancer Research UK and Macmillan webpages. There is also information on different types of cancer found on the NHS Inform website.