Cancer Screening
Our office offers a wide range of cancer screening and diagnostic services for breast and cervical cancer. Early detection increases the odds that treatment will be successful.
BREAST CANCER SCREENING
Instructions in breast self-examination (BSE)
Members of our staff can teach you to perform breast self-examination so you can check your breasts monthly to detect lumps or other changes. A woman who regularly performs BSE can become an “expert” on her breasts, and that knowledge may be helpful if she develops a problem later. Any new lump should be evaluated by the doctor.
Mammogram
Dr. Taylor’s decision to refer you for a mammogram will be based on your age and other risk factors, such as a family history of breast cancer.
CERVICAL CANCER
Pap smear
Cervical cancer often has no symptoms until it has spread but a Pap smear makes early detection possible. Pap smears are performed routinely during a pelvic examination to identify abnormal cells from the cervix and other reproductive organs. The doctor scrapes a small amount of tissue from the cervix for examination under a microscope.
Dr. Taylor recommends that a woman have her first Pap smear at age 21, or earlier if she is sexually active.
At some point in their lives, as many as half of all sexually-active men and women are infected with genital human papilloma virus (HPV), a virus that is known to cause cervical cancer. A vaccine that protects against HPV has recently become available. Dr. Taylor recommends inoculation with the vaccine, available at his office, as early as age 9.