IF YOU HEAR AN OMINOUS grinding noise every time you hit the brake pedal, chances are you’ll have a mechanic check your car’s brakes right away. Few people would keep on driving when there’s a risk for brake failure.

It’s similar with symptoms of chronic illness. If you notice a suspicious looking mole, or you feel chest pain that doesn’t go away, you can choose to keep going about your life as usual and hope the problem will vanish on its own.

Or, you can pick up the phone and schedule a checkup with your doctor. The implications of possible skin cancer or heart disease can be every bit as serious as those of failed brakes.

“Better yet, bring your body to the shop for a periodic inspection before symptoms have a chance to arise. Many effective screening tests exist that are designed to catch illnesses in the earliest, most treatable stages,” says Arlene Brown, M.D., a physician in private practice in Ruidoso, N.M., who is on the board of directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians and on the clinical faculty of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

By the time symptoms of cancer, heart disease or diabetes already have surfaced, the disease may be much more difficult to treat. Your physician can identify early risk factors you may have, then develop a plan for screening and treatment.

Are You at Risk?
Everyone has at least some risk for chronic illness, so everyone has a lot to gain from periodic health screenings.

“We’re a society with an epidemic of obesity and poor health habits, so we know there’s a huge population at risk for coronary heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases,” says Brown. “The availability of effective screening is a real plus. In our parents’ or grandparents’ generations, it was not unusual for people to have late-stage complications at the time of their diagnosis.”

Why Treatment Gets Delayed
There are plenty of great reasons for getting regular checkups and screenings. Still, people find reasons to avoid them, including:

• MONEY. For a lot of people, it’s a matter of prioritizing their lives: What’s more important — household repairs or health care?
• DENIAL. Few people like to admit they may be vulnerable to serious diseases. It’s much more comfortable to stick with the status quo and ignore the reality of one’s mortality.
• FEAR AND AVERSION. Many people have witnessed the devastation of late-stage cancer or heart disease in a friend or family member, so they immediately envision the worst. But they shouldn’t.

“If you have a colonoscopy and it reveals a precancerous polyp, removing the polyp could prevent colon cancer down the line,” says Brown. “It’s a worthwhile intervention — a couple hours of discomfort versus developing a cancer that could put your whole life in jeopardy.”

Important Symptoms
Even if it’s not time for a scheduled checkup, contact your doctor right away if you have any of the following warning signs. They don’t indicate you definitely have a disease, but a checkup can tell for sure.

Warning Signs of Cancer:

• A sore that doesn’t heal
• Unusual bleeding or discharge from anywhere in the body
• A change in bowel or bladder habits
• A lump in the breast or other part of the body
• Recurrent indigestion or trouble swallowing
• Obvious changes in a wart or mole
• Persistent hoarseness or coughing

Warning Signs of Diabetes:

• Increased fatigue
• Unusual weight loss
• Excessive thirst
• Frequent urination
• Extreme hunger
• Irritability
• Blurred vision

Warning Signs of Heart Disease:

• Chest pain anytime that doesn’t go away with rest

Signs of heart attack call for an immediate trip to the emergency room. They include crushing or squeezing chest pain that feels like a heavy weight; pain may radiate to the jaw, back or one or both arms or shoulders, and may be accompanied by difficulty breathing, lightheadedness, sweating, nausea or vomiting and quickened or irregular pulse.

Get Screened Regularly
Regular screening may help ensure you never experience these symptoms, Brown reminds. “In past generations, a lot of people would wait until breast cancer had ulcerated through the skin,” he says. “At that point, there’s not a lot you can do for a patient except pain control. That’s why regular screenings are so important.”

Polly Turner spoke with Arlene Brown, M.D., a family physician in private practice in Ruidoso, N.M., who is on the board of directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians and on the clinical faculty of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

For more information, visit the Web Site for the American Academy of Family Physicians at www.familydoctor.org.

Sooner or Later?
“The earlier your doctor identifies a problem, the better the chance it can be treated or cured with a minimal procedure,” says Arlene Brown, M.D.

There are blood pressure and cholesterol tests for heart disease, Pap tests for cervical cancer, blood glucose tests for diabetes and more.

HEART DISEASE

• IF YOU ACT SOONER, treatment may include exercise, adopting a healthy diet and quitting smoking.
• IF YOU ACT LATER, you may face bypass surgery, stroke or heart failure.

CANCER

• IF YOU ACT SOONER, tumors can be discovered in their benign or noninvasive stages, and you have a chance to adopt lifestyle habits to help prevent a future recurrence. “If a mammogram identifies a tiny lump, a biopsy can be done to remove it early and preserve the breast tissues, and many cervical cancers we see are preventable or curable with early screening and treatment.”
• IF YOU ACT LATER, you may face surgery, radiation or chemotherapy, or death.

DIABETES

• IF YOU ACT SOONER, early treatment may simply involve dietary changes and exercise.
• IF YOU ACT LATER, you may be faced with blindness, kidney dialysis, heart bypass surgery, stroke or amputation. “The reality is, those things don’t occur until one has had uncontrolled diabetes for a number of years,” Brown says. “They can be prevented by screening.”

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