February marks Cancer Prevention Month, a period dedicated to raising awareness on how early action can significantly reduce cancer-related deaths. At the heart of the campaign is one message: screening saves lives.
Health experts say many cancer deaths occur not because treatment is unavailable, but because diagnosis comes too late.
Screening tests help detect cancer at its earliest stages sometimes even before symptoms appear making treatment more effective, less invasive, and more affordable.
Cancer often develops quietly. By the time visible signs such as persistent pain, unexplained weight loss, abnormal bleeding, or lumps appear, the disease may already be advanced.
Screening interrupts this silence. Tests like Pap smears for cervical cancer, mammograms for breast cancer, PSA tests for prostate cancer, and colon screenings for colorectal cancer allow doctors to catch abnormal changes early, long before they become life-threatening.
During Cancer Prevention Month, hospitals, county health departments, and non-governmental organizations intensify screening campaigns, often offering free or subsidized services.
These initiatives are especially critical in low- and middle-income communities, where cost, stigma, and lack of information continue to keep people away from health facilities.
Beyond early detection, screening reduces the overall burden on the healthcare system. Treating early-stage cancer is significantly cheaper than managing advanced disease, which often requires prolonged hospital stays, complex procedures, and long-term medication.
Prevention, health professionals argue, is not just a medical priority but an economic one.
Cancer Prevention Month also emphasizes that screening is not only for those who feel unwell. Many people mistakenly wait for symptoms before seeking medical tests, a delay that can prove fatal.
Doctors recommend routine screening based on age, gender, family history, and lifestyle factors, even when one feels healthy.
Equally important is addressing fear and misinformation. Some avoid screening due to anxiety about possible results, while others believe cancer is a guaranteed death sentence.
Medical experts counter this by stressing that early-detected cancer is often treatable and, in many cases, curable.
As February draws attention to cancer prevention, health advocates urge the public to move beyond awareness and take action by booking screenings, encouraging loved ones to get tested, and supporting those already undergoing treatment.
