Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters yesterday morning.
Ages for cancer screenings have been lowering in the last few years.
Sommer said, “I found this article on I think it’s US News and World Report. It just basically touched on getting your screening done that the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society have lowered their recommendation for the age you get your colonoscopy, which is 45 from 50. Then the recommendation for women and their mammograms is starting at age 40. And we still talk about COVID. I see that COVID numbers are going up. But during that time, there’s been kind of like a spike in cancer diagnoses and it’s hard to determine whether that was because there was a lack of screening during that time and then there was a lag in people getting back into the swing of things because everybody was had cabin fever and just wanted to run and enjoy themselves. But a lot of the screening and preventative medicine that we were doing before religiously kind of got put on the back burner.”
Younger generations tend to put things off.
Sommer said, “It’s just recommending to try and gauge that population to start seeking health care sooner. Sometimes you need somebody to tell you, all right, we can see you in six months. So we’ll see you in a year. And it keeps you on track.”
It’s somewhat easy to become complacent, especially since the pandemic.
Sommer confirmed, “The earlier the better. I didn’t realize Shannon Miller is a former gymnast, Olympic gold medalist and in 2011 at the age of 33, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she listened to her body and she knew that there was something wrong. So she was able to get treatment and she is cancer free. So a lot of times when people are in their 20s and 30s, society will say you’re fine. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re healthy. However just listen to your body. If there’s aches, if there’s pains, if there’s something different that is not getting better, even if it comes and goes but it’s worse when it comes back you really need to get that checked out. Better safe than sorry.”
Putting things off won’t make the symptoms go away.
Sommer said, “I know there’s the argument, well, maybe we have more diagnoses because we are screening at an earlier age. But regardless, it’s all about prevention. So you just need to pay attention again, to the warning signs in your body and just follow the guidelines. It doesn’t hurt to establish with a primary care provider at any age, because you never know when you might have that emergency that is not anticipated.”
Illnesses can affect anyone of any age.
Sommer said, “Approximately 20 percent of new colorectal cancer diagnoses are happening among those between the ages of 20 and 54. It’s an alarming thing. So just pay attention to your body and don’t prolong care. Get a mammogram by the age of 40. If you have a history of breast cancer in your family, definitely talk to your doctor because it depending on the age of your mother when she was diagnosed when they might start doing it preventative sooner.”
A number of people are not aware the age for colonoscopies has moved from 50 to 45.
Sommer said, “Even when patients come into the office and they complain about those pesky hemorrhoids, but they’re, like 45, 46 and 48 and I’m like, oh, have you ever thought about a colonoscopy? And they’ll say, oh, no, I’m not there yet. I have a few more years. I said, no, no, actually, you’re late. Nobody wants to be told they have cancer, ever, but the sooner you get the diagnosis and if it’s early stages, the the easier it will be to treat it.”
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