Screening Flashcards
1
Q
What are the advantages of screening?
A
- Reduction of mortality by detecting early disease that is curable
- Less radical treatment hence reducing morbidity
- Saving on health service resources by increased cure rates
- Reassurance given by a negative test
2
Q
What are the disadvantages of screening?
A
- Increased length of anxiety and morbidity if no effective intervention is possible
- The over-investigation of false positive cases with assocaited morbidity
- Over-treatment of borderline cases that do not require treatment
- False reassurance from a false negative result
- Possible harmful effects of the screening test
- Cost of screening a large population
3
Q
What are the cancer screening programmes available in the UK?
A
- Cervical Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Colorectal Cancer
4
Q
Who is cervical screening offered to? How is it done? How often?
A
- Women aged 25 - 49 every 3 years
- Women aged 50 - 64 every 5 years
- In Scotland and Wales, screening starts at 20
- Smear test =small sample of cells taken from cervix
5
Q
What age does the breast screening programme start? How often? What is done?
A
- Women ages 50 - 70 years every 3 years
- Regular mammography
6
Q
What ages are the colorectal screening programme offered from? How often? What is done?
A
- Men and women every 2 years from 60 - 74
- Bowel screening done, looking for faecal occult blood
- Every 2 years, they’re sent a home test kit, which is used to collect a poo sample.
