Americans are living longer than ever before, much of it due to early screening. As patients approach middle age health screenings are important for early detection of many diseases. Dr. O’Toole explains to older patients who are healthy that they are viable candidates for plastic surgery procedures including facelift, abdominoplasty, and even breast augmentation. In most cases Dr. O’Toole will recommend that patients over 50 obtain complete medical clearance from their primary care physician. Usually testing will include blood work, a urinalysis, and an EKG. For some patients a chest x-ray may also be recommended. Obtaining medical clearance prior to surgery provides a level of assurance of patients health preparing them better for surgery. To maintain patients best health, patients should verify the recommended timeline for health screenings with their primary care physician. Colorectal screening is just one of the screenings recommended for patients approaching middle age. According to The Los Angeles Times increased screening during the last decade for colorectal cancer, the nation’s second-leading cause of cancer deaths, has put a sharp dent in the prevalence of the disease and in the number of deaths resulting from it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. As screening for the disease among those ages 50 to 75 increased from half to two-thirds of that population, the prevalence rate fell from 52.3 cases per 100,000 in 2003 to 45.4 per 100,000 in 2007. The death rate fell from 19 per 100,000 to 16.7 per 100,000 during the same period, the agency reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Those declines represent 66,000 fewer cancers during the period and 32,000 fewer deaths, the agency found. But there are still 22 million Americans in that age group who are not being screened, the report says.
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