Consumer Reports has new recommendations about which medical screenings are necessary and which are not.
The No. 1 screening to get for both men and women is colon cancer. They're recommending it between the ages of 50 and 75. If you have this screening every 10 years starting at age 50, you give yourself a nearly 100% chance of surviving if pre-cancerous activity is detected. By contrast, if this cancer goes undetected, the fatality rate is high.
A lot of people are turned off from the colon cancer because of the prep. The prep involves drinking a liquid that cleans out your system -- that's the part people don't like. But you are out cold during the exam, and there is no pain from it or after it. I'm due for my next screening in two years.
The next two tests Consumer Reports is recommending are for women. They're recommending cervical cancer screenings for women aged 21 to 65, and breast cancers screening at age 50 to 74. That last one is particularly controversial because of the late start date.
As far as other cancers, they're not recommending the diagnostics. Those include bladder, lung, skin, oral, testicular, and ovarian cancer screenings, among others.
