How to do the physical examination? These 4 physical examination items are wasting money, there is really no need to do them
"Doctor, is there something wrong with your examination results? My annual physical examination results are normal, and I usually pay attention to my diet. How could I be diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer suddenly?" Mr. Wang looked at his hands in confusion. asked about the test results.
Just half a year ago, Mr. Wang also participated in the physical examination organized by the unit. The physical examination results showed that except for some nodules in the lungs that required additional examination, other indicators were normal.
However , half a year after the physical examination, Mr. Wang began to have frequent abdominal pains . He thought it was a stomach problem, and he didn't take it too seriously . Instead, he took stomach medicine for a few days, but he didn't see any improvement, so he decided to go to the hospital. Check, this check found out the advanced stage of bowel cancer.
This is so strange, next year the physical examination results are normal, but it is suddenly found that the cancer is terminal? Can physical examination programs detect cancer early? Is it just spending "wasted money"?
1. Is "cancer prevention physical examination" a waste of money?
Physical examination is definitely useful, and annual examination can enable early detection and early treatment.
But in the eyes of some people, cancer prevention physical examination seems "expensive and tasteless", like spending "wrong money"?
Anti-cancer physical examination, also known as "opportunistic screening", can detect early tumors, precancerous conditions, and other prone diseases, and the probability of missed diagnosis is small . It is suitable for people over 50 years old or with a family history of genetic diseases.
To put it simply, the general physical examination uses fewer screening methods than the anti-cancer physical examination, and naturally it is difficult to detect early cancers. For example, the general liver examination uses ordinary ultrasound examinations, while the anti-cancer physical examination uses These include ultrasound, DNA testing, and serological markers .
Does that mean the more expensive the inspection, the better? Cancer prevention screening also needs to choose a targeted cancer screening program that suits you according to your own eating habits, living and working environment, and family history .
Targeted screening items for different cancers are also different. Are the anti-cancer physical examination packages on the market dazzling you, and some are even outrageously expensive. The following are the truly important and targeted anti-cancer screening items:
- Stomach and intestinal cancer: gastrointestinal endoscopy + pathological examination of polyps;
- Liver cancer: color Doppler ultrasound + alpha-fetoprotein examination;
- Lung cancer: low-dose CT examination;
- Cervical cancer: Pap test;
- Breast cancer: self-examination + mammogram;
- Ovarian cancer: CA-125 detection;
- Prostate: PSA test.
2. There are 6 kinds of diseases found in the physical examination, don't scare yourself
In fact, what most people are most worried about is the results of the physical examination, and they are afraid of what they will find out. But some diseases are just scary in name, and there is no need to spend "wasted money" to treat them.
1. Hepatic hemangioma
Most of the hepatic hemangiomas grow very slowly. Generally, asymptomatic hepatic hemangiomas need to go to the hospital for regular checkups.
If the hemangioma is relatively large in size and in a special location, and you start to experience symptoms such as abdominal distension and constipation, then you need to go to the hospital for surgical treatment.
2. Prostatic calcification
Prostate calcification is actually the scar left by prostatitis. Diagnosing prostate calcification can only mean that you have had prostatitis before. Generally, you don’t have any symptoms or signs when you check it out. You just need to go to the hospital for regular checkups.
But if you have symptoms of prostatitis such as frequent urination, urgency, incontinence, perineal discomfort, backache and low back pain, you have to treat it according to prostatitis.
3. Thyroid nodules
95% of thyroid nodules are benign, and the possibility of cancer is very small. If your thyroid nodule is less than 1 cm, you don’t need to worry too much. You just need to go to the hospital for regular checkups and pay more attention to your daily life, diet, and work and rest.
4. Uterine fibroids
In fact, most uterine fibroids are benign, and those below 5cm are generally safe. If you are approaching menopause, have small uterine fibroids, have no symptoms, are pregnant, and have no red degeneration of uterine fibroids, you only need to go to the hospital for reexamination every 3-6 months.
If you suffer from uterine fibroids and are approaching pregnancy, and the diameter of the fibroids is more than 4cm, surgical resection is required in time.
5. Cervical erosion
Cervical erosion has already been officially renamed as "cervical columnar heterotopia". In fact, most of it is a normal physiological phenomenon . If further cytology and HPV examinations are carried out and the results are normal, no special treatment is required.
6. Liver cyst
In fact, liver cysts have nothing to do with tumors. They will not become cancerous, nor will they affect liver function. Generally, normal conditions do not need to be ignored. However, if the hepatic cyst has reached more than 10cm, and symptoms such as abdominal distension and difficulty in defecation occur, attention needs to be paid.
3. How should the physical examination be done? These 4 projects are actually spending "wrong money"
There are many medical examination items on the market, and some of them are ridiculously expensive, but don’t be fooled by its name. It sounds good when you hear it, but it’s not practical after spending “unjustified money”.
- Laboratory indicators
This project is only applicable to the primary screening of gastric diseases. They have not yet met the requirements for the accuracy of screening gastric cancer. The first choice for screening gastric cancer is gastroscopy.
- X-ray film
Due to the low resolution and low detection rate of this project, it is not suitable for screening early lung cancer. Generally, lung cancer that can be detected by X-rays is already at an advanced stage. It is recommended that people over the age of 50 or those with a family history of disease can choose low-dose CT during physical examination, so as to achieve early detection and early treatment.
- Prostate ultrasound
The program is not designed to screen for early-stage prostate cancer, or even to diagnose it. It is recommended that men over the age of 50 choose to use the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) project to screen for prostate cancer, which is affordable, convenient and practical.
- Children's blood calcium test
The calcium content in the serum is insufficient. In order to prevent low calcium convulsions, the bones will contribute calcium to the blood, which creates the illusion that the calcium content is sufficient, but in fact the child is already in a state of calcium deficiency.
It is recommended to start with the symptoms of calcium deficiency (sweating, excitement, lack of sleep). When checking, you should refer to the three values of blood calcium, blood phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase to judge together , or use X-rays of the wrist to check the bone age to determine whether there is a deficiency. calcium.
Extension - what should be checked most in different age groups?
I don’t know what to check and how to check in the physical examination. It starts from the age. In fact, there are key physical examination items for each age group.
1. 30 years old: check blood sugar
Possible items: postprandial blood sugar, glucose tolerance test, glycosylated hemoglobin
As the age of diabetes is getting younger and younger, it is recommended that people over the age of 30 have their blood sugar checked at least once a year. Choose glycosylated hemoglobin for more accurate screening.
2. 40 years old: check the heart
Possible items: electrocardiogram, blood lipid, blood pressure, heart examination, cardiovascular examination
The sudden death rate of acute myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease at the age of 40 is higher than that of the elderly. It is recommended to check regularly every year and record blood lipids, blood pressure and other indicators.
3. 50 years old: check bones and intestines
Possible items: bone density examination, stool routine, colonoscopy, gastroscopy
It is recommended to do bone density examination and routine stool examination once a year, and colonoscopy and gastroscopy every 2 to 3 years (if you have a medical history or high-risk groups in the past, you should have colonoscopy and gastroscopy once a year).
4. Over 60 years old: comprehensive inspection
In addition to the items mentioned above, hearing and fundus examinations also need to be added.
For the 60-year-old population, fundus examination can detect senile cataract and primary glaucoma early, reflecting whether the cerebral arteries are sclerotic.
The key preventive measures for cancer are early detection and early treatment. I hope everyone can choose the right screening items to save "wasted money"!
References:
[1] "Is Cancer Prevention Physical Examination Worth Doing?" Tumor experts appeal: these 6 items cannot be saved. Life Times. 2019-06-29
[2] "Physical examinations are normal every year, but the result is advanced cancer. Is the anti-cancer physical examination a waste of money?" ". Popular Science China. 2022-08-10
[3] " What should be checked in the physical examination of each age group?" " . Department of Neurology, Chongqing People's Hospital. 2022-11-26
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