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Lifesaving information about Delaware’s cancer prevention, screening, and treatment services.

How can you reduce your cancer risk? Eating right, getting physically active, and having regular cancer screenings that follow recommended guidelines can help you stay healthy. But, what if you are diagnosed with cancer? There’s information about that here too — so you’ll know how to not only survive, but thrive.

Mature couple walking on the beach discusing cancer prevention

Cancer types:

Screenings

When you should be screened and how often:

Women 25 to 40

Screening:

  • Physical examination of breasts by a health care provider 1
  • Clinical Breast Exam (may be offered)

How Often: Every 1 to 3 years

Other Actions:

  • Breast self-awareness 2
  • Risk assessment 3

How Often: Regularly

Women 40 and Older

Screening:

  • Mammogram 1
  • Clinical Breast Exam (may be offered)

How Often: Annually

Other Actions:

  • Breast self-awareness 2
  • Risk assessment 3

How Often: Regularly

Learn more
  • Women 21 and Older 4,5

    Screening or Vaccine: Pelvic Exam

    How Often: Annually

  • Women 21 to 29

    Screening or Vaccine: Pap Test

    How Often: Every 3 years

  • Women 30 to 65

    Screening or Vaccine: Pap Test

    How Often: Every 3 years or every 5 years with HPV co-testing

Learn more
  • Men and Women 45 and Older 4,5

    Screening or Vaccine: FIT Test, Colonoscopy, or Cologuard

    How Often:

    • FIT Test: Annually
    • Colonoscopy: Every 10 years
    • Cologuard: Every 3 years
Learn more

Men and women 50-80 who:

  • Smoke or have–smoked a pack a day for 20 or more years, or 2 packs a day for 10 or more years
  • Currently smoke or quit smoking within the past 15 years

Screening should be discontinued once a person:

  • Has not smoked for 15 years
  • Develops a health problem that substantially limits life expectancy or the ability or willingness to have curative lung surgery

Screening or Vaccine: Low-dose CT scan

How Often: Talk to your health care provider to determine if a lung cancer screening is recommended

Updated in April 2021

Learn more
  • Average Risk: men 50 years and older 4,5

    High Risk: men 45 years and older; high-risk men include African Americans and men who have a first-degree relative diagnosed with prostate cancer at an early age. Early age defined as less than 65 years.

    Higher Risk: men 40 years and older – men who have more than one first-degree relative who has had prostate cancer at an early age (less than 65). 4,5

    Screening or Vaccine: Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test with or without a Digital Rectal Exam (DRE)

    How Often: Talk to your health care provider to determine if prostate screening is recommended

Learn more

Per Screening for Life guidelines dated July 2021.

1 For women of average risk for breast cancer.

2 Become familiar with the normal look and feel of breasts, reporting any changes to a health care provide.

3 Determination of breast cancer risk based on age, family history, genetics, and personal medical and lifestyle histories.

4 Talk with your health care provider about individual screening recommendations.

5 Individuals with a family history of cancer may qualify for screening at an earlier age.

Nurse Navigators

Delaware nurse navigators can help you get screened for cancer.

Whether you have insurance or not, Delaware nurse navigators can help you get screened for cancer and provide follow-up help when you get your results. Choose from the list below to call a nurse navigator directly, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or click the call request button to have a nurse navigator contact you.

A Nurse Navigator on the phone supporting a patient
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