Cancer Risk and Prevention

Regular screening and healthier habits can make all the difference

Baptist Cancer Center offers tools, resources and every advantage when it comes to cancer prevention. While some risk factors are beyond your control, such as age, gender, race or a family history of cancer, there are a number of ways you can reduce your risk of developing cancer, particularly through regular screenings.

Cancer screenings save lives

Cancer can develop before you begin experiencing symptoms. Often, when signs are present, the disease can be in its advanced stages. Annual cancer screenings can find cancer in its early stages, when it is most treatable and your chances of beating it are highest. This makes cancer screenings one of the best way to proactively reduce your risk of advanced cancer. While most screenings can be performed by your primary care provider, Baptist Cancer Center offers a wide variety of cancer screenings, many of which are covered by private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid as preventive care.

Recommended screenings for women

• Clinical breast exam – Every one to three years beginning at age 25
• Pap smear and HPV test for cervical cancer – Every three to five years beginning in your 20s
• Mammogram for breast cancer – Every year beginning at age 40
• Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer – Every 10 years starting at age 45; every 5 years thereafter if there is a family history of the disease

Recommended screenings for men

• Prostate cancer screening – Start at age 45 or earlier if you are Black or have a family history of the disease
• Colonoscopy – Every 10 years starting at age 45; every 5 years thereafter if there is a family history of the disease

Recommended screenings for men and women

Lung cancer screening – A low-dose CT scan of the lungs; annually for current and past tobacco users or if you have a family history

Other recommended cancer screenings

• Endometrial cancer
• Liver cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Skin cancer

Mobile Mammography

Early detection of breast cancer is key to survival. Baptist Women’s Health Center’s mobile mammography unit makes breast care, education and resources accessible to women throughout our footprint in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas . Moreover, through the support of our generous community partners, grants are available to help provide breast cancer screenings and education to uninsured and underinsured women throughout the Mid-South.

Learn more about our mobile mammography unit

Ways to manage or reduce your risk

While there is very little we can do about the effects that age, gender and genetics have on your risk of cancer, there is plenty we can all do to reduce other risk factors associated with cancer:

• Quit tobacco products
• Avoid secondhand smoke
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet
• Reduce alcohol intake
• Exercise regularly
• Use skin protection against ultraviolet rays
• Get vaccinations to prevent cancer

Tobacco Cessation Programs

Quitting tobacco products is not easy, but Baptist Cancer Center is here to help. Our tobacco cessation programs help you face not only the physical addiction to nicotine, but the mental, emotional and spiritual challenges giving up tobacco as well.

If you want to quit tobacco, you are not alone. According to the Food and Drug Administration, nearly 70% of adult smokers in the U.S. said they wanted to quit, but only 55% made the attempt. Of those, just 8% were successful in quitting for six to 12 months.

If you are serious about quitting tobacco products, we will work with you to develop a unique treatment plan to meet your needs.

Learn more about our tobacco cessation program by calling 901-226-5328.