Cancer screening

Slide 1: Cancer Screening – The Issues/Concerns

Regardless of the type of cancer being diagnosed, cancer screening tests are integral because
they assist in detecting cancer cells before symptoms appear. Screening can identify cancer early,
increasing the chances of patients receiving the right and most effective therapy (Brill, 2020).
Early diagnosis can lower the risk of cancer progressing to the advanced stages because of early
treatment onset. Cancer screening can also be an ongoing process to identify whether a specific
therapy is effective and whether cancerous cells have completely been wiped out. Despite their
benefits, cancer screening can be risky for specific patients. According to National Cancer
Institute (2020), healthcare providers must select and recommend screening tests whose benefits
outweigh the risks. Even though each screening test might present specific harms, depending on
the type of cancer being screened, the following are the general concerns (harms or side effects)
associated with cancer screening:

1. Bleeding and other health-related problems
2. Development of cancer among healthy individuals due to repeated exposure to X-ray
   radiations
3. Anxiety, stress, and depression due to false-positive results
4. Delayed diagnosis and treatment due to false-negative results
5. Overtreatment due to overdiagnosis
   Slide 2: The Health Practitioner’s Role in Cancer Screening
   A cancer diagnosis, screening modality, or exercise can only be measured by how many
   mortalities and adverse negative effects (false positives and false negatives) have been reduced.
   It can also be evaluated by how many people have been screened (uptake) within a specific
   locality. Therefore, practitioners must devise ways to reduce barriers to cancer screening (lack of
   knowledge and resistance or poor uptake due to psychological factors like fear and
   embarrassment. According to Tsang et al. (2020), the role of the health practitioner in cancer
   screening falls under five major categories, including:
   1. Advocacy
   Clinicians or healthcare professionals must encourage cancer patients (symptomatic and
   asymptomatic) and those at-risk to partake in cancer screening exercises. Community
   pharmacists, general practitioners, and other frontline professionals must advocate for cancer
   screening and health because patients and community members often consider them as “trusted
   advisors.” Providing detailed face-to-face explanations about screening and its methods can
   generate public and asymptomatic people’s buy-in. 
6. Patient education

In addition, healthcare professionals are responsible for educating patients about potential cancer
risk factors and distinctive features of the different screening modalities. Perceived health
benefits and risks can significantly increase screening participation among healthy community
members and asymptomatic patients. Also, healthcare professionals have a moral duty to address
patient concerns irrespective of individual beliefs, perceptions, and values. Patient education can
improve health literacy and modify their attitudes toward cancer screening. 
3. Offering choice/alternative for screening methods to patients 
Thirdly, healthcare providers must provide patients with screening alternatives. They have an
ethical obligation to maintain an informed decision-making process by encouraging patient
autonomy by providing alternatives to available screening methods. For example, healthcare
professionals must provide women with various breast cancer screening alternatives, including
magnetic resonance imaging, mammography, and self-examination. 
Slide 3: Cont…

4. Involvement in the screening process and maintaining the quality of the results by
   observing all screening guidelines
   Healthcare professionals also have a major role in the “actual” screening processes. They must
   maintain quality by observing the standard guidelines and undergoing regular audits.
   Additionally, healthcare professionals must establish and monitor quality indicators consistent
   with international standards to alleviate inconsistencies in outcomes. This is necessary to achieve
   patient satisfaction. Research shows that patients less satisfied with previous screening outcomes
   are more likely to drop out early and delay or refuse participation. Healthcare providers must
   also explain the possibilities of false positives and negatives to patients to prepare them mentally
   before screening (Tsang et al., 2020).
5. Compliance and monitoring
   Finally, healthcare providers play a central role in boosting patient compliance to screening,
   especially by advising about the benefits of regular screening. Healthcare providers must monitor
   patient conditions or situations to maintain compliance in follow-up screening and other
   activities using electronic medical records alert systems. Healthcare providers can also remind
   patients to participate in cancer screening through interactive telephone calls or emails. 

Slide 4: Conclusion

Cancer screening is important because it allow for early diagnosis of cancer and initiation of
treatment. Overall, this improves the effectiveness of treatment and lower chances of mortality
and adverse effects. Despite its essence, cancer screening is associated with false negatives, false
positives, and overdiagnosis, leading to anxiety, stress, and multiple psychological symptoms.
Therefore, healthcare providers must provide a balance between early screening and addressing
potential setbacks linked with screening. The five roles of healthcare providers include:
advocacy, patient education, providing screening alternatives to foster informed decision-making
among patients, involvement in the screening process, and compliance and monitoring.

Slide 5: References

American Cancer Society. (2020). Cancer prevention & early detection facts &
figures. https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-
statistics/cancer-prevention-and-early-detection-facts-and-figures/cancer-prevention-and-
early-detection-facts-and-figures-tables-and-figures-2020.pdf
Brill, J. V. (2020). Screening for cancer: The economic, medical, and psychological issues.
AJMC, 26(14). https://www.ajmc.com/view/screening-for-cancer-the-economic-medical-
and-psychosocial-issues
Tsang, E. W. Y., et al. (2020). Role of healthcare professionals in cancer screening. Hong Kong
Medical Journal, 26(6), 546-548.