Health Screening

If you’ve delayed routine health care checkups during the pandemic, you’re not alone. Now is a great time to see your primary care provider (PCP) to keep your health on track. Getting regular health care and screenings can help prevent serious health problems or help you catch them early, when you may have more treatment options.  

At your physical, your PCP can check your blood pressure, weight, and other changes in your health. This is a great opportunity to share any concerns you may have. Your provider can screen you for common physical and behavioral health conditions and order any additional screening tests you may need. 

Ask your PCP if you’re up to date with your vaccinations. Vaccines are one of the best ways to stay healthy. For example, it’s important to get the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shot, as well as flu vaccine every year. Depending on your health history and age, you may need routine vaccines for Tdap, hepatitis A and B, the human papillomavirus (HPV), shingles and pneumonia. 

Screening tests are an important part of preventive health care. They check for health conditions and diseases before you have symptoms. If a screening tests shows you may have a new health condition, additional tests can confirm a diagnosis. Screening tests can find conditions early, when they’re easier to treat. Often it’s possible to make lifestyle changes to keep your condition under control.

The screening tests you need depend on your age, your sex, your family health history, and whether you have risk factors for certain diseases. Some conditions that doctors screen for include:

• Diabetes
• Depression
• High blood pressure or hypertension
  
• High cholesterol
• Osteoporosis
• Overweight and obesity

• Breast cancer
• Cervical cancer
• Colorectal or colon cancer
• Lung cancer
• Prostate cancer in men

• Hepatitis C
• HIV
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Cancer screenings save lives. Talk to your PCP about screenings for:

• Breast cancer. Regular mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast cancer early, sometimes up to 3 years before it can be felt. Women age 40 and older can work together with their provider to decide when to start mammograms. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that women who are 50 to 74 years old and are at average risk for breast cancer get a mammogram every 2 years.
  
• Colorectal cancer. The USPSTF recommends adults begin screenings at age 50. Some groups recommend starting earlier, at age 45. Talk to your provider about when to begin screenings and decide which cancer screening test is right for you.
  
• Cervical cancer. You should get a pap smear as scheduled, especially if you had an abnormal pap smear in the past. The USPSTF recommends screening for cervical cancer every 3 years with cervical cytology alone in women aged 21 to 29 years. For women aged 30 to 65 years, the USPSTF recommends screening every 3 years with cervical cytology alone, every 5 years with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing alone, or every 5 years with hrHPV testing in combination with cytology (co-testing).  
  
• Lung cancer. If you’re between the ages of 50 and 80 and have a long history of smoking, ask your PCP if you may be a good candidate for annual lung cancer screening.  
  
• Prostate cancer. According to the USPSTF, men aged 55 to 69 years should discuss with their PCP whether periodic prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening is right for them. 
  

Your PCP explains your screening test results to you. They will let you know if you need any additional bloodwork or imaging to diagnose a new condition. Your provider may refer you to specialist to review your screening tests and perform or review diagnostic tests.

At Mass General Brigham, your PCP and specialists coordinate your care following health screenings. We understand waiting for test results and referrals to specialists can be stressful and time-consuming, so we developed an approach that ensures timely referrals, testing and treatment. 

Our PCPs foster collaboration between the top specialists who work together in your care to give you easier access to your providers to get answers quickly. Your PCP and specialists partner with you to make sure you have access to care at the right place and time. Our commitment is to bring the best of care closer to you and connect you to total health.

If you have concerns about changes in your health at any time, contact your PCP. They can help determine if you need a checkup, bloodwork, or testing to diagnose any new conditions that may need treatment. Trust your instincts and don’t delay care.