Cancer screening for the abdominal region can be easily done via ultrasound. I just had my second one done and the doctor said everything “looked good” including pancreas (they did two, one year apart to detect changes in the image). My father also died of pancreatic cancer at 76.
According to this source, ultrasound is 93% accurate in detecting pancreatic cancer (of course it’s also easy to have a look at lungs, kidneys, bladder, stomach, etc. at the same time).
It’s completely non-invasive, painless, much cheaper than MRI and takes about 20 minutes. You can probably get your doctor to refer you if you express your concern about genetic risk. Colonoscopy is also easily had if you are over 50.
Yes. I do an MRI scan regularly for my enlarged prostate. Would be better that all males had their prostate gland removed in mid-life to prevent alot of the complications that can later occur with prostate glands.
Do you pay for that privately? Much more fun to have your prostate tickled. Next time, I must look at the bill to seen the technical term for fingers up the bum.
Just an ultrasound isn't sufficient for the full abdominal region.
My wife had been dealing with symptoms you typically don't relate to cancer. Fatigue, (ultra) low iron levels, fainting. She has seen multiple doctors over the years and all they did was dismiss concerns ("this is common for women" or "it's due to the pregnancy") and provide iron supplements or IV. When she fainted again she finally found a doctor that took the matter seriously and immediately recommended doing a colonoscopy and endoscopy. Turned out she had colon cancer...
Thanks for this. I tested negative for the blood marker, but have an age typical enlarged prostate. Does the MRI scan differentiate between a benign enlargement and non-benign? The side effects of removal put me off having an unneccessary removal.
P.S.
I am a prostate determined "Sitzpinkler". Its actually a nice out-time when you get used to it, especially on the luxury of my home, soft padded seat.
I have had a similar experience. Symptoms dismissed ('Oh, it's just a women thing/hormones/menopause/growing old/probably all in your head.') And pain ignored ('Well, life is pain, learn to live with it/Go climb the Mythen'.)
The problem with an ultrasound is that you have to have it done and read by someone who actually knows what they are doing... which may or may not be a GP. I had several ultrasounds, each time was told that everything looks fine, so it must be (see the above list).
Took those ultrasound images to a clinic in the US - the doctor there said that anyone reading these who thought they were normal should have his medical license revoked.
So - if you have symptoms and/or pain that persist, and are getting nowhere with the GP, ask for a referral to to an imaging center for the ultrasound/MRI.
GPs deal with such a wide breadth of conditions that they might not have the deep knowledge - or time - necessary to diagnose some diseases at an early, and most treatable, stage.