Prevention and screening
Nearly half of all cancers can be prevented through healthy living. This includes eating a healthy diet, having a healthy body weight, being physically active, avoiding tobacco use and limiting alcohol.
Screening tests help find some types of cancer before you have any symptoms. Tests are available for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer. Talk to your doctor or nurse about which screening tests are right for you.
Getting checked for cancer through a screening test may:
- Check for health problems before signs and symptoms appear.
- Find cancers at an early stage, before symptoms appear and before it has spread, making it easier to treat.
If signs of cancer are found through the screening test, more tests may be done to get a diagnosis.
The Cancer Care Program offers cancer screening programs for breast, cervical and colon cancer. Research does not currently support screening programs for other types of cancers.
If you have questions about screening for other types of cancer, please talk to your health-care provider.
For more information on each screening program and to take part, please follow the links below:
