Cancer Screenings

Missouri Care Wants To Make Sure You Stay Healthy.

Having regular cancer screenings is one of the best things you can do for your health. Screenings help find problems before they become serious. If you catch a problem early, there is a better chance to cure it.

Most cancer screenings are a covered benefit for Missouri Care members.

To find out more, call Missouri Care at 1-800-322-6027.

Are You Due For A Cancer Screening?

You can check our schedules below to see if you are. You may need to follow a different schedule if you are at a high risk for cancer. People at high risk may have a personal or family history of cancer or certain health conditions. Call your PCP to find out if a cancer screening is right for you.

Cancer-Related Check-Ups

For people aged 20 or older having periodic health exams, a cancer-related check-up with your primary care provider (PCP) should include health counseling and, depending on a person’s age and gender, exams for cancers of the thyroid, oral cavity, skin, lymph nodes, testes, and ovaries, as well as for some non-malignant (non-cancerous) diseases.

Take Control of Your Health and Reduce Your Cancer Risk.

Stay away from tobacco
Get to and stay at a healthy weight
Get moving with regular physical activity
Eat healthy with plenty of fruits and vegetables
Limit how much alcohol you drink (if you drink at all)
Protect your skin
Know yourself, your family history, and your risks
Have regular check-ups and cancer screening tests
Information on how to reduce your cancer risk and other questions about cancer, please call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit us online at www.cancer.org

Adapted from the American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer.

Cervical Cancer

Screening	Age	Recommendations
Pap test	21-29 years	Pap test every 3 years. HPV testing should not be used in this age group unless it is needed after an abnormal Pap test result.
Pap test plus an HPV test (called “co-testing”)	30-65 years	Pap test plus an HPV test (called "co-testing") every 5 years. This is the preferred approach, but it is also OK to have a Pap test alone every 3 years.
	Over 65 years	Women over age 65 who have had regular cervical cancer testing with normal results in the last 10 years should not be tested for cervical cancer. Once testing is stopped, it should not be started again. Women with a history of a serious cervical pre-cancer should continue to be tested for at least 20 years after that diagnosis, even if testing continues past age 65.
Cervical cancer screening (testing) should begin at age 21. Women under age 21 should not be tested. A woman who has had her uterus removed (and also her cervix) for reasons not related to cervical cancer and who has no history of cervical cancer or serious pre-cancer should not be tested. A woman who has been vaccinated against HPV should still follow the screening recommendations for her age group. Some women - because of their health history (HIV infection, organ transplant, or DES exposure, etc.) - may need to have a different screening schedule for cervical cancer. Talk to your doctor or nurse about your history. Please see Cervical Cancer Prevention and Early Detection for more information.

Prostate Cancer

The American Cancer Society recommends that men make an informed decision with their doctor about whether to be tested for prostate cancer. Research has not yet proven that the potential benefits of testing outweigh the harms of testing and treatment. The American Cancer Society believes that men should not be tested without learning about what we know and don’t know about the risks and possible benefits of testing and treatment.

Starting at age 50, men should talk to a doctor about the pros and cons of testing so they can decide if testing is the right choice for them. If they are African American or have a father or brother who had prostate cancer before age 65, men should have this talk with a doctor starting at age 45. If men decide to be tested, they should have the PSA blood test with or without a rectal exam. How often they are tested will depend on their PSA level.

For more information, please see Prostate Cancer Early Detection.

Breast Cancer

Screening	Age	Recommendations
Annual Breast Cancer Screening with Mammograms	40 to 44	Women should have the choice to begin yearly screenings.
Annual Breast Cancer Screening with Mammograms	45 to 54	Every year
Annual Breast Cancer Screening with Mammograms	55 and older	Every 2 years, or the choice to continue yearly screenings

Colorectal Cancer

Follow one of these schedules.

Screening	Age	Recommendations
Flexible sigmoidoscopy	50 and older	Every 5 years*
Colonoscopy	50 and older	Every 10 years
Double-contrast barium enema	50 and older	Every 5 years*
CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy)	50 and older	Every 5 years*
Guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT)	50 and older	Every year, *
Fecal immunochemical test (FIT)	50 and older	Every year, *
Stool DNA Test	50 and older	Every 3 years*
Colonoscopy should be done if test results are positive. * Highly sensitive versions of these tests should be used with the take-home multiple sample method. A gFOBT or FIT done during a digital rectal exam in the doctor’s office is not enough for screening. The tests that are designed to find both early cancer and polyps are preferred if these tests are available to you and you are willing to have one of these more invasive tests. Talk to your doctor about which test is best for you. Some people should be screened using a different schedule because of their personal history or family history. Talk with your doctor about your history and what colorectal cancer screening schedule is best for you. For more information on colorectal cancer screening, please call the American Cancer Society and ask for the document called Colorectal Cancer Prevention and Early Detection.

Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer

Follow one of these schedules:

Age	Recommendations
Menopause	Report any unexpected bleeding or spotting to your health care provider.
35 and older (for women with or at risk for hereditary non-polyposis colon cancer)	Annual screening every year

Lung Cancer

The American Cancer Society does not recommend tests to screen for lung cancer in people who are at average risk of this disease.

However, the ACS does have screening guidelines for individuals who are at high risk of lung cancer due to cigarette smoking. If you meet all of the following criteria then you might be a candidate for screening:

55 to 74 years of age
In fairly good health
Have at least a 30 pack-year smoking history (equal to smoking a pack a day for 30 years, or 2 packs a day for 15 years) AND are either still smoking or have quit smoking within the last 15 years

The ACS recommends that testing should be done with a low dose CT scan of the chest. For more information on the lung cancer screening guidelines, please see Lung Cancer Prevention and Early Detection.