Strengthen Tribal Communities

Nurture Wellness

Regular screenings can help catch cancer early and increase your chances for recovery and a long, healthy life. In cases where cancer is detected and treated early, the relative 5-year survival rates can be:

For Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

0 %

For Breast Cancer

0 %

For Colorectal Cancer

0 %
Protect Yourself

Screen For Wellness

Screen for Lung Cancer

Lung Cancer

You may be recommended for CT scans if all of the following apply to you:

  • You are between 50 and 80 years old
  • You currently smoke cigarettes, or you quit in the last 15 years
  • You smoked an average of at least 1 pack a day for 20 years or 2 packs a day for 10 years

If your doctor recommends screening, you should start getting CT scans at age 50.

You should get screened once a year.

Screen for Breast Cancer

Mammogram

You should get screened if you have breast or chest tissue, and any of the following apply to you:

  • You are 40 years of age or older
  • You have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer

You should start getting screened at ages 40-45. If you have a high risk of getting breast cancer, you may be able to start as young as 30.

You should get screened once a year. Once you turn 55, you can switch to once every two years or continue screening once a year.

Screen for Colorectal Cancer

Colonoscopy

You should get screened for colorectal cancer if any of the following apply:

  • You are 45 years or older
  • Someone in your family has had colon cancer or pre-cancerous polyps (growths)
  • You have an inflammatory bowl condition like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

You should start screening as young as age 45. If you are at a high risk, you should talk with your doctor about getting screened earlier. If you are older than 75, you should talk with your doctor to decide if you should continue screening.

If you have an average risk of colorectal cancer, you should get screened once every 10 years. If you have a high risk, you may need to be screened more often.

Lower Your Risk

Lifestyle Prevention

In addition to regular screenings for cancer, you can lower your risk of cancer through simple lifestyle changes. Making healthy lifestyle choices can improve your health and decrease your risk for cancer and other diseases. Additionally, you can set an example for your family, friends, and community to encourage them to make healthy choices as well.

It is important to note that when making changes to your lifestyle, it is best to start small and do what you can. 

Eat Healthy

Eating healthy can improve your overall health, reduce your risk for cancer, and, if you need cancer treatment, help treatment work more effectively. Here are some suggestions to get started:

  • Eat more plant based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes (beans)
  • Limit eating red meats (such as beef, pork, and lamb) to 12–18 oz. each week—this is about 4–6 3 oz. servings per week
  • Include healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and wild game
  • Limit fried foods, fast foods, processed meats, and other processed foods high in fat, starches, or sugars
  • Avoid sugary drinks
  • Watch portion sizes
  • Avoid or limit alcohol

Get Moving

Participating in physical activity for at least 150 minutes each week (or 30 minutes 5 days a week) can help improve your overall health, which reduces your risk for cancer. Here are some suggestions to get started:

  • Sit less, if and when possible
  • Begin with easy to moderate activities, like walking or stretching, for short periods of time (5-10 minutes)
  • Push yourself without causing pain or too much exhaustion
  • Gradually build up time and intensity levels
  • Do different kinds of exercise to improve your health and keep things interesting when exercising, such as:
  • Aerobic exercises, such as jogging, dancing, or swimming
  • Strength exercises, such as lifting weights, body weight work, or using resistance bands
  • Balance exercises, such as tai chi or yoga
  • Flexibility exercises, such as stretching

Other Tips

Here are other things you can do to improve your health and reduce your risk of cancer as well as protect your family, friends, and community:

  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Avoid smoking, vaping, and other tobacco products
  • Avoid secondhand smoke
  • Test your home for radon
  • Wear protective equipment when working with or around hazardous chemicals and pollutants
Understand Your Health

Know the Risks

A risk factor is something that can increase your risk for cancer. Risk factors can be something in your lifestyle that you can influence, such as diet or physical activity, or it can be something genetic or biological you have that you cannot control, such as getting older or a family history of cancer.

It is important to note that having a high risk of getting cancer does not guarantee you will get cancer. Likewise, having a low risk for cancer or actively lowering your risk does not guarantee you won’t get cancer. However, understanding and actively lowering your risk can improve your overall health and either lower your chances of getting cancer or makes any treatment you do receive for cancer more effective and easier to handle.

Lifestyle
  • Any current or past smoking/ vaping/ tobacco use
  • Exposure to secondhand smoke, radon, and other hazardous chemicals and pollutants at home, school, or the workplace
Biological
  • Having a biological parent, sibling, or child who has had lung cancer
  • Changes in certain genes, like the EGFR gene
  • Getting older, especially if over the age of 65
  • Being female
  • Getting older
  • Having a body mass index (BMI) over 30 after menopause (around age 52)
  • Having had proliferative (more cell growth than normal) breast lesions such as atypia (abnormal looking cells)
  • Having dense breast tissue
  • Taking hormone therapy for menopause symptoms for more than 4-5 years
  • Having your first menstrual period before age 13 or having later menopause
  • Having never given birth
  • Having your first full-term pregnancy at an older age
  • Having already had breast cancer
  • Having a family history of breast cancer
  • Having a family history of certain genetic mutations (changes)
  • Drinking more than four alcoholic drinks per week
  • Smoking/ vaping/ tobacco use
  • Being exposed to therapeutic ionizing radiation, such as having radiation therapy to your chest or breast
Lifestyle
  • Any current or past smoking/ vaping/ tobacco use
  • Eating large amounts of red meat (beef, pork, and lamb) and processed meats (bacon, sausage, and processed deli meats)
  • Not exercising
  • Being overweight or obese
  • Having three or more alcoholic drinks each day
  • Having type 2 diabetes
Biological
  • Getting older, especially after ages 45
  • Previously having colorectal cancer or ovarian cancer
  • Having a history of polyps
  • Having a history of inflammatory bowel disease, which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s colitis (or Crohn’s disease)
  • Identifying as American Indian, Alaska Native, Black, or Ashkenazi Jewish
  • Having a family history of polyps or colon cancer, which includes:
    • Having a biological parent, sibling, or child who had colorectal cancer, especially if it was before age 50
    • Having two or more relatives who had colon cancer
    • Having members of your family who had adenomatous polyps
    • Having familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP)
    • Having Lynch syndrome (hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer, or HNPCC)
Be Aware

Warning Signs

If you notice something about your body that is unusual or abnormal, talk to your doctor as soon as you can. They can help you determine the next steps towards addressing your symptoms. This is especially important if you are younger than 40.

  • You have a cough that gets worse or doesn’t go away
  • You have chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing, or laughing, especially if it doesn’t go away or is sudden and severe
  • You have shortness of breath
  • You don’t usually feel hungry or you lose weight quickly and without trying
  • You cough up blood or rust-colored spitYou cough up blood or rust-colored spit
  • You have a new lump on your breast, chest, or underarm that does not get smaller
  • You have a rash or itching on the breast
  • You have dimpling (small pits in the breast like the skin of an orange)
  • You have puckering (creases) in your breast
  • You have pain in your nipple, your nipple is turning inward, or your nipple is pointing in a new direction
  • You have a red, swollen breast that is warm to the touch
  • You see blood in your stool or notice bleeding from your rectum
  • You have diarrhea, constipation, or your stool is very thin
  • You feel like you need to have a bowel movement, but you don’t pass anything
  • You have unexplained pain in your abdomen
  • You lose weight quickly and without trying
  • You often feel tired, but you don’t know why

FAQ

You should consult with your doctor about when you should start cancer screenings. Be sure to inform them of your health history and your family health history, especially if you or a family member have previously had cancer. Also inform your doctor of any risk factors that could increase your chances of getting cancer. This will help you and your doctor determine when to start screenings.

You can also take the screening resources on the American Lung Association website as a starting point to determine if you qualify for lung cancer screenings.

You can talk with your doctor to determine what resources for cancer screenings are available. You can also look for locations online. You can use the screening locator tool on the American Cancer Society website to check for locations that screen for breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. The American College of Radiology offers the Lung Cancer Screening Locator Tool on their website specifically for locating lung cancer screening facilities.

Health insurance plans are required to cover cancer prevention screenings for those who qualify. If you have insurance, check your policy to see what is covered. If you don’t have insurance, you can find insurance options on the Washington HealthPlanFinder website. The Breast, Cervical, Colon Health Program can help pay for screenings if you do not have health insurance. Call 1-888-438-2247 to see if you qualify.

Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from radioactive elements like uranium naturally found in soil and rocks. You can’t smell, see, or taste it. While there is a small amount of naturally occurring radon constantly in the environment, it can build up in structures like homes, schools, and other buildings. Long-term exposure to elevated levels of radon (4 pCi/L or higher) can greatly increase your risk of lung cancer, especially if you smoke.

You can fill out a Radon Test Kit Access Form on the Washington State Department of Health to request a free kit through the state of Washington. Supplies are limited, and it takes 8-10 weeks to deliver the kit. You can also order a kit through the National Radon Program Services, or you can purchase a radon test kit at a local retail or hardware store.

Resources

CT Scan
Mammogram
Colonoscopy