Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: FAQ

Cancer Screening increases the chances of detecting certain cancers early, when they are most likely to be curable. The goal of screening exams for early cancer detection is to find cancers before they start to cause symptoms. Screening refers to tests and exams used to find a disease, such as cancer, in people who do not have any symptoms. The goal of cancer screening is to reduce the number of people who develop and die from cancer.
Treatment works best when cancer is found early—while it’s still small and is less likely to have spread to other parts of the body. This often means a better chance for a cure. The screening is much useful in; Breast Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Cervical Cancer, Lung Cancer & Prostate Cancer: where early detection gives better treatment outcome and Quality of Life (QoL).

⦁ Change In Bowel Habits or Bladder Function
⦁ Sores That Do Not Heal
⦁ White Patches Inside The Mouth or White Spots On The Tongue
⦁ Unusual Bleeding or Discharge
⦁ Thickening or Lump In The Breast or Other Parts Of The Body
⦁ Indigestion or Trouble Swallowing
⦁ Recent Change In A Wart or Mole or Any New Skin Change
⦁ Nagging Cough or Hoarseness
⦁ Other Symptoms
⦁ Unexplained Weight Loss
⦁ Fever
⦁ Fatigue

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTH, AND REDUCE YOUR CANCER RISK:
⦁ Stay away from tobacco.
⦁ 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.

Comprehensive Guide to Cancer Screening Tests Cancer screening involves checking your body for cancer before you experience any symptoms. Detecting cellular changes or early-stage tumors makes treatment highly effective, less invasive, and significantly increases survival rates.

Routine Screening Modalities

1. Breast Cancer Screening

Mammogram
A mammogram is a specialized, low-dose X-ray imaging technique used to create detailed images of breast tissue.
• How it works: The breast is briefly compressed between two plates to spread out the tissue, allowing the radiologist to detect tiny calcium deposits (microcalcifications) or abnormal masses that cannot be felt during a physical exam.
• Who it is for: Generally recommended annually or biennially for women starting at age 40 to 50, or earlier for individuals with a strong family history of breast cancer.
Breast Ultrasound
An ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce real-time images of the internal structures of the breast.
• How it works: A technician applies a water-based gel and moves a transducer over the skin. It does not use radiation.
• Who it is for: Often used as a supplemental tool alongside a mammogram, particularly for women with dense breast tissue, or to investigate a specific lump found during a physical examination.

2. Cervical Cancer Screening

Pap Smear & Cytology
Cervical cytology, commonly known as a Pap smear, is a cellular screening method used to detect precancerous or cancerous changes in the cervix.
• How it works: During a pelvic exam, a healthcare provider gently scrapes cells from the surface of the cervix. These cells are sent to our laboratory, where cytologists examine them under a microscope for abnormalities.
• Who it is for: Recommended for individuals with a cervix starting at age 21, usually repeated every 3 to 5 years depending on age and co-testing with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) diagnostics.

3. Colorectal Cancer Screening

Colonoscopy
A colonoscopy is a highly effective structural screening that allows direct visual examination of the entire large intestine (colon) and rectum.
• How it works: A thin, flexible, lighted tube equipped with a video camera (colonoscope) is inserted through the rectum. If precancerous growths (polyps) are found, they can be removed immediately during the procedure, preventing cancer from developing.
• Who it is for: Recommended for average-risk adults starting at age 45, repeated every 10 years if the results are normal, or more frequently for individuals with personal or family histories of polyps or inflammatory bowel disease.

4. Prostate Cancer Screening

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test
The PSA test is a diagnostic tool used to screen for prostate abnormalities in men.
• How it works: A simple blood draw is analyzed to measure the level of prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by both cancerous and noncancerous tissue in the prostate. Elevated levels can indicate prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or inflammation.
• Who it is for: Discussed with men starting between ages 45 and 50, depending on individual risk factors such as ethnicity and family medical history.

Specialized & High-Risk Screenings
These targeted screenings look deeper into internal organs. They are highly recommended for individuals with specific lifestyle risk factors, chronic conditions, or a strong family history of cancer.

Ovarian Cancer Screening
• Transvaginal Pelvic Ultrasound: Uses sound waves to build a detailed visual layout of the ovaries, allowing clinicians to inspect their shape, structure, and check for hidden cysts or solid masses.
• CA-125 Blood Test: A laboratory biomarker test that measures the CA-125 protein. Elevated numbers alert clinicians to potential ovarian cellular activity that requires immediate investigation.

Pancreatic Cancer Screening
• Advanced Abdominal Ultrasound: Serves as a non-invasive imaging layer to scan the deep abdomen for early structural masses or blockages in the pancreatic ducts.
• CA 19-9 Blood Test: A specific tumor marker blood test utilized to monitor pancreatic health and track subtle metabolic shifts in high-risk groups.

Liver Cancer Screening
• Abdominal Ultrasound: An imaging scan used to visualize liver tissue, track scarring (cirrhosis), and locate hidden solid nodules or tumors.
• Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) Blood Test: A reliable biomarker test where elevated adult AFP levels point heavily toward active liver cell abnormalities.

Schedule Your Screening
Cancer screening recommendations vary on which cancers people should have screening tests for, which screening tests should be used to screen for a particular cancer, and when and how often those tests should be done. It's important for people to talk with their doctors to determine which tests are appropriate for their age and medical history.
All you have to do is report to the hospital in the morning, preferably on empty stomach. Normally, following tests are done at MJKM Cancer Research Centre, Cherthala as part of Cancer Screening.

The most common sign of breast cancer is a lump or thickening in the breast. Other signs include: change in the size or shape of the breast, discharge from the nipple, or change in the color or feel of the skin of the breast or nipple (dimpled, puckered or scaly; warm, red or swollen). It's important to note that there may be no warning signs or symptoms. Breast self-exams, clinical breast exams and regularly scheduled mammograms are vital in the screening and early detection of the disease.

No one yet knows what causes breast cancer, but medical research has generated a lot of knowledge about the disease. Researchers at the Comprehensive Cancer Center have made some important discoveries in the treatment and prevention of breast cancer, ranging from understanding more about the genetic aspects of cancer to developing a vaccine that may treat and prevent breast cancer.

Statistics show that a woman has a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of developing breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women in the United States, other than non-melanoma skin cancers. Three-fourths of breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women age 50 and older. And although breast cancer is more common in older women, it does occur in younger women and in men. There are additional factors that may increase a woman's cancer risk.

Check the other breast. Some lumpiness is normal. However, if the lump is new or unusual, it warrants examination by a physician. A lump found during a breast self-exam, a clinical breast exam or a mammogram does not necessarily mean that a woman has breast cancer. Nearly 80 percent of all breast lumps are noncancerous (benign). However, cancer is a possibility. Early detection and treatment provides the best outcome, so a woman shouldn't let fear stop her from seeing a physician.

Being a woman and getting older are the biggest risk factors for developing breast cancer. Other risk factors include: age; family history of breast cancer in a close family member on either mother's or father's side; onset of menstruation before age 12; onset of menopause after age 50; or not having children or having a first child after age 30.

The pressure caused by spreading the breast tissue may be uncomfortable, but it should not be painful. Women who experience pain should tell the technologist.

The radiation exposure from modern, low-dose mammography equipment is minimal. Radiation doses usually are so low they're negligible. Plus, the medical benefits of early detection outweigh any potential risk.

Speak with your physician about treatment options. Although there are four standard ways to treat breast cancer (surgery, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy and chemotherapy), several treatments may be combined. Your physician can recommend specific treatments depending on the type and location of the cancer, the stage at which it was detected, and your age and general health.

Surgical Oncology is the division of surgery which deals with cancer. Surgical Oncologist/ Oncosurgens who got specialized training in cancer surgery performs these complex cancer surgeries.

Surgery forms the main treatment for majority of solid tumors like: cancers of Head & Neck, Breast, Gastro Intestinal tumors, Bone tumors and Soft Tissue Sarcomas. Now a day, multi- modality approach is adopted for cancer treatment. Patient choices, Stage of disease, Patient’s general condition, Research based evidence etc are considered before deciding on cancer surgeries.

Surgery forms the main treatment for majority of solid tumors like: cancers of Head & Neck, Breast, Gastro Intestinal tumors, Bone tumors and Soft Tissue Sarcomas. Now a day, multi- modality approach is adopted for cancer treatment. Patient choices, Stage of disease, Patient’s general condition, Research based evidence etc are considered before deciding on cancer surgeries.

Cancer surgeries are complex prolonged surgical procedures in which complications are common. The nature of complication varies depending on type of surgery, disease site, patient’s general condition etc. However, in experienced hands and dedicated cancer centre’s these complications are kept to the minimal.

Yes, we do offer all types of major reconstructive surgeries including microvascular surgeries, breast reconstruction and Breast Conservation Surgeries.

Yes, rehabilitation physiotherapy, speech and swallowing therapy forms an integral part of our post-operative care.

‘Radiotherapy’ literally means treatment with Radiation. Radiotherapy uses high energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells by making them unable to grow and reproduce. It may be given on its own or in combination with other treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or hormones. The treatment is usually given externally, using an external beam radiotherapy machine (Medical Linear Accelerator) or internally using radioactive sources.

You will be positioned carefully on a treatment couch a short distance away from treatment machine. Sometimes, an attachment to the machine will rest very close to your skin during treatment, otherwise nothing to feel from treatment. The treatment will be given by Radiotherapy Technologists.
Treatments lasts for a few minutes and you will be alone in the room while the machine is switched ON. The Radiotherapy Technologists are just outside the room, watching you on TV monitors, and there is an intercom if you wish to speak to them during your treatment.
Your treatment may involve moving the machine to several different positions – all you have to do is lie still, in the required position, and breathe normally.

No. This treatment does not make you radioactive.

You Radiation oncologist will decide exactly where to treat you, what dose you should have, the number of treatments and the frequency of those treatments. This may be daily, weekly, twice or thrice a week for anything up to seven and a half weeks. The number of treatments does not reflect the seriousness of your disease. Factors such as age, general health, site of cancer and type of cancer are all taken in to consideration.

This varies considerably from one person to another and also depends upon which part of the body is being treated. Generally, any effects take a few days to develop. Tiredness is a common side effect so you may feel rather lethargic.
The skin sometimes becomes more sensitive in the area being treated. You may wash the area normally, unless told otherwise, but avoid any undue friction/rubbing and do not use any creams, ointments or powder on the skin unless approved by your doctor.

Yes. You can very well play with kids.

• Don’t eat raw food. Raw foods may carry bacteria that can lead to infection.
• Before chemotherapy eat a small light meal. Eat what appeals to you.
• Try not to disturb your sleep pattern at night. Take nap early in the day, if needed.
• Cut your hair short or shave it, if you are worried about hair loss.
• Eat foods that are warm rather than cold.
• Avoid odors and smells that are unappealing.
• To prevent constipation drink 8-10 glasses of fluids a day.
• Stay active as you can.
• Brush your teeth with soft brushes three times a day.
• Rinse your mouth with solution of one teaspoon baking soda and one teaspoon of salt, diluted in a glass of lukewarm water three or four times a day.
• Wear soft , loose, padded shoes/sandals or cotton socks.

Yes, we are Government approved centre for cancer treatments. Government employees can reimburse the cancer treatment expenses and are also eligible for Interest Free Medical Advance.

Note: Whether a patient is a candidate for surgery or not depends on factors such as the type, size,location, grade and stage of the tumor, as well as general health factors such as age, physical fitness and other coexisting medical conditions the patient may have. Surgery will be combined with other cancer treatments, such as hemotherapy, radiation therapy or hormone therapy.