Nowadays, as people pay more and more attention to health, many friends will do some health check-ups and anti-cancer check-ups. Many people even spend a lot of money to do various expensive examinations. Will the physical examination results show that there is no problem and everything is fine? If the health check result is normal, can I not get the tumor? Is PET-CT an artifact of cancer detection? In fact, the physical examination is not as simple as we think, and if you are not careful, it will be inferior to these misunderstandings.
Misunderstanding 1: Tumors that will not occur after a normal health examination
Some people take part in the health check-up organized by the unit every year, or go to the hospital every year for a physical check-up. Why are they suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer? In fact, health check-ups are not equivalent to cancer-preventing check-ups. The so-called anti-cancer check-ups are relatively targeted early screenings for common cancers, while regular general health check-ups are mainly screenings for chronic diseases, such as hypertension, Diabetes, etc., it has little effect on the early detection of cancer. Therefore, if you want to detect some tumors early, you must do a cancer prevention physical examination to detect early tumors in a targeted manner.
Misunderstanding 2: A physical examination can guarantee no cancer within a few years
All physical examination results can only reflect the physical condition of the human body within a certain period of time. Since the human body is constantly changing over time, the result of a physical examination is normal, so you can rest assured that you will not have a tumor in a few years. This view is seriously wrong. .
The frequency of annual physical examinations is relatively recommended. Because, the occurrence of general diseases, even those that are approaching, usually takes 3 months to develop significantly. If the disease has not been detected in the physical examination, it is relatively safe. In addition, the X-ray, CT, mammography and other inspection methods in cancer screening also need to consider radiation factors. There is no problem with this type of inspection once a year.
It should be noted that if there are discomforts or special symptoms during the two physical examinations, the frequency of examinations must be strictly followed once a year, and targeted anti-cancer physical examinations must be carried out in time.
Misunderstanding 3: Cancer that cannot be prevented without a problem in cancer screening
Everyone should guide that no one inspection item will be 100% diagnosed. The diagnosis of the disease often requires the subject’s physical condition, personal living habits, doctor’s experience, and the error of the equipment itself, so even if the test result is not Seeing abnormalities does not mean that there is no problem with the body.
At present, cancer screening is generally carried out for some common cancers. Some inspection methods have limited sensitivity and cannot detect all early cancers. For example, chest X-rays only have a higher rate for tumors larger than 2cm in diameter. The detection rate, under the influence of fatty liver background, may also lead to missed diagnosis of early liver cancer after B-ultrasound.
In addition, the cancer cells of some tumors multiply fast and have not been found in the physical examination, but the tumor cells proliferate for a short time, causing cancer to occur.
Therefore, even if no problems are found in the anti-cancer physical examination, it is not all right. When the body is unwell, it is still necessary to go to the hospital in time to avoid delaying the best treatment time for the disease.
Misunderstanding 4: Do not make any changes after the physical examination
Regular health check-ups are equivalent to a small examination of the body’s various tracheal functions. If you find some minor problems, you must make targeted changes, such as changing your diet, changing some bad habits, and if you feel some minor problems after the physical examination It’s not a big deal, and then ignore it, so the physical examination does not play a guiding role in human health. If the minor problems detected are closely related to some of your living habits, or high-risk factors for cancer, such as long-term smoking and alcoholism, family history of tumors, history of viral infections, severe overweight, etc., you should pay attention to them. , Make targeted changes, so as to prevent cancer as much as possible.
Misunderstanding 5: PET-CT examinations and genetic examinations are expensive and are the best examinations
Compared with traditional X-ray examinations and CT examinations, advanced examination methods such as PET-CT examinations, ie genetic examinations, do have incomparable accuracy or advancement, but it does not mean that expensive examinations are the best and most suitable for you. . Various examination methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. PET-CT examinations have better accuracy than ordinary CT examinations, but they need to introduce radioactive substances into the human body, which has greater radioactivity, so some anti-cancer examinations do not It is necessary to use it, and PET-CT cannot be used frequently to check for cancer, and it cannot be used as a routine cancer screening method.
What should I do for cancer prevention checkup?
With the improvement of people's health awareness, many people will go to the hospital for cancer prevention physical examination. So, what should be done for cancer prevention physical examination?
The three routine items that are checked when going to the hospital for a normal physical examination: blood, urine, and stool routines, and usually signs of cancer can be found. Liver function tests are also necessary, especially for patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. There are three main methods for cancer prevention physical examinations for high-risk groups of tumors: tumor marker detection, endoscopy and imaging examinations. Due to benign tumors, inflammation, bad living habits, etc., certain tumor markers will also increase. Doctors need to analyze the specific conditions of tumor markers, such as the concentration level, duration, whether the index continues to rise, etc., and combine the internal Speculum and imaging examination to further clarify.
Five major cancer checkup methods
Liver cancer
Screening for liver cancer can be done by B-ultrasound and blood test. Those who have a history of hepatitis or cirrhosis, have a family history, and are alcoholics. AFP quantitative and biochemical tests are also required. A significant increase in AFP indicates primary liver cancer, and a moderate increase is common in liver cirrhosis and acute hepatitis.
Lung cancer
For lung cancer screening, chest X-rays or more sensitive chest CT can be done. It is recommended that smokers get a low-dose chest CT once a year. Chest CT is currently the most sensitive imaging method for lung lesions, which is conducive to early detection of lung cancer.
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is a serious hazard to women's health. Women can go to the hospital physical examination center for blood tests, breast color ultrasound, and use sound waves to form internal breast images to observe whether there are abnormal lumps. B-ultrasound is the first choice for people under 40 years old; women over 40 years old are best to have a regular mammography examination every year.
Stomach cancer
The commonly used examination method is gastroscope, such as traditional gastroscope, painless gastroscope, capsule gastroscope. The following people are recommended to undergo gastroscopy: those with a family history of gastric cancer; those with chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcers, gastric polyps, or those who have undergone gastric surgery; those with Helicobacter pylori infection; men, especially those with a normal weight of 20-25 kg or smokers ; High-salt diet, addicted to pickled food. For people who are not suitable for gastroscopy, serum gastric function test can be performed for early screening.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
The occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is closely related to Epstein-Barr virus infection. Epstein-Barr virus antibody detection is currently a commonly used screening method, but this detection method has certain false positives or false negatives. In order to more accurately determine whether the Epstein-Barr virus is infected and replicated, and achieve early diagnosis and prevention, it is recommended to use a more accurate EB virus nucleic acid test.
Experts remind: For people in areas with high tumor incidence, people who are often in contact with carcinogens, people with a family history of malignant tumors, people with precancerous lesions, and healthy people over 40 years old, cancer prevention inspections should be done at least once a year.
