Can your primary care doctor help you prevent cancer? The answer is yes, with regular check-ups, education on lifestyle habits, and state-of-the-art cancer screenings. Here is more on one of today’s most important primary care functions.
Regular Check-up with Your Primary Care Physician
Your annual wellness examination with your primary care doctor is more than just a “once over” of your vital signs, weight and blood pressure. As important as those are, your annual physical includes cancer screening.
Detected in the earliest stages, many of the most common cancers, such as breast and colon, have higher cure rates.
That said, your primary care physician will include the following cancer assessments as part of your plan of preventive health care:
- Assessing your skin, neck, abdomen, and other areas for any lumps or changes in moles or skin spots
- Doing a manual breast exam to include the lymph nodes under the arm
- Doing a DRE or digital rectal exam for males ages 40 and over to detect changes in the prostate
- Taking a pap smear to check for cervical cancer in women
In addition, your annual wellness check-up with your PCP includes routine blood work. Your blood sample can reveal indicators of blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Based on the results of these tests, your PCP may recommend further testing or treatments.
Education and Reminders about Cancer Screening Tests
Your primary care physician will keep you informed about what cancer screenings you need based on your:
- Age
- Gender
- Family history of cancer
- Personal medical history
- Lifestyle risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, diet, exposure to toxins, and alcohol use
They will remind you about when you need to schedule your mammogram, colonoscopy, PSA blood test, and others.
Also, your primary care physician will tell you how to reduce your risk of developing cancer in the first place. Patient education includes information about:
- Tobacco usage (including the dangers of secondhand smoke)
- Risky sexual practices
- Exposure to toxins in the environment
- Healthy eating and weight control
- Regular aerobic exercise
- Stress reduction
- Alcohol usage
Referrals for Testing and Treatment
Your primary care physician at Intercoastal Medical Group can refer you for your cancer screening tests. Many can happen right at one of our 10 convenient locations.
For instance, we offer 3D digital mammography at our Lakewood Ranch I and Cattleridge locations. Our mammograms are comfortable, accurate and performed by highly trained technicians.
Excellent imaging helps detect breast changes. Women ages 40 and over should get mammograms annually.
Our complete women’s services also offer cervical cancer screenings. Easy Pap smears are recommended every three years for women ages 21 and up or whenever sexual activity begins.
For colon cancer screening, our GI doctors do colonoscopies at our Lakewood Ranch II and Cattleridge locations. These tests involve taking laxatives the day before and endoscopic examination to detect growths called polyps. People ages 45 and up who are at average risk of colon cancer should get screened when their doctors recommend.
For blood cancers, our team of board-certified hematologists/oncologists identify a wide range of blood cancers. They also offer screenings for lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others.
Supportive Care
Many of our patients get their primary care and cancer care right within the Intercoastal Medical Group family of providers. As they go through treatments and recovery, our patients learn ways to watch for signs of relapse.
Plus, they receive counseling on how to deal with the side effects of treatment. Counseling includes nutritional support, information on medications and more.
Finally, our medical teams are very caring. They ensure patients and their families receive the emotional support they need to recover well.
Your Cancer Center in Sarasota, FL
To access the widest range of health care services in Sarasota and Manatee Counties in the state of Florida, contact Intercoastal Medical Group. As a multispecialty medical group, we have cardiologists, orthopedic surgeons, gastroenterologists, and more on staff throughout our 10 locations, providing coordinated, comprehensive care.
Please select a location or provider near you for a consultation or request your visit online. We look forward to serving you!
