Are You Due For A Screening?

Prep yourself to get screened for certain cancers when you can—don’t wait for symptoms

Awareness of cancer screenings is growing, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is getting screened when they should. This is a fact that Gary Thomas, MD, board-certified medical oncologist and Medical Director at St. Joseph’s/Candler SC Cancer Specialists, has seen in some of his most difficult cases—patients at stage III or IV colon cancer, for example, who had never gotten a colonoscopy. But he also encountered this issue closer to home.

“I basically had to nag a member of my own family,” Dr. Thomas recalls. “She turned 50 and had been putting off her very first colonoscopy. She said, ‘I have no symptoms and there is no family history of colon cancer. I feel fine!’ But when she finally went through with it, they found stage III colon cancer.”

After being treated with surgery and chemotherapy, that person is doing fine now. But it cemented the idea of getting screened when it’s recommended rather than waiting for symptoms.

“Now other family members of mine are doing it on their own, without me nagging,” Dr. Thomas says with a laugh.

Time Change

Underlying the urgency of early detection is the fact that the recommended age to start colorectal cancer screenings is no longer 50. It has been lowered to age 45 for people of average risk.

“A troubling new trend is that people in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, even those who don’t have the typical risk factors for it,” Dr. Thomas says. “Researchers don’t know exactly why this is happening, but it may have to do with the gut flora, the microbiome that we have in our digestive system.”

High-fat, low fiber diets that include a prevalence of processed meats are associated with microbes in the gut becoming carcinogenic. Still, it has not been proven to be the definitive cause of early-onset colorectal cancer.

The trend is doubly puzzling for doctors because among older adults, the rate of colorectal cancer has declined. This is, in part, due to the older population getting regular colonoscopies. That decline is evidence that Dr. Thomas believes shouldn’t be ignored.

“This is one of the few cancers that is almost completely preventable,” he says. “Yet there is still a lot of resistance. Many people don’t want to go through the prep for a colonoscopy. But the prep has actually changed and improved.”

For Dr. Thomas, any discomfort from the procedure is outweighed by the peace of mind a patient gains afterward.

“Does anyone enjoy getting a colonoscopy every five years? No,” he says. “Do they sleep better after learning that it’s crystal clear? Absolutely.”

Critical Value

Another screening that Dr. Thomas feels is underutilized is the low-dose CT scan for lung cancer.

“Lung cancer screening is an essential resource for certain patients,” Dr. Thomas says. “It can potentially detect lung cancer early, before symptoms appear.”

The National Cancer Institute conducted a lung cancer screening study which included more than 50,000 high-risk patients. Results showed that annual lung CT screening can detect cancer sooner and can reduce death rates from the disease by 20 percent in ex-smokers older than 55 years.

“It demonstrates once again that early detection is critical,” Dr. Thomas says. He encourages everyone in the Bluffton and Hilton Head communities to talk with their primary care physician about their eligibility for screenings.

“You can also contact us if you need more information,” he says. “It’s important because the right time for you to get screened could be here before you know it.”

Quality That Is Second To None

SC Cancer Specialists successfully completed a three-year certification program for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet nationally recognized standards for quality cancer care. It is the only practice in the Low Country and the region to earn the certification. The recognition comes from the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative Certification Program, or QOPI.

SC Cancer Specialists has two convenient locations for Low Country residents:

St. Joseph's/Candler - Bluffton Campus
100 Buckwalter Place Blvd. in Bluffton
843-836-7100

45 Hospital Center Commons on Hilton Head Island
843-689-2895