Start with the standard screens for your age: colon, breast, cervical, and lung if you smoked. They have decades of proof behind them. Full-body MRI and multi-cancer blood tests can be added on top, but they don't replace the standard screens, and they often find things that need more tests to sort out.
The screens, in plain English
Think of the standard screens like smoke detectors in the rooms where fires most often start. The newer tests are more like walking through the whole house: you see more, and you also notice plenty of things that turn out to be nothing.
Colon
A colonoscopy looks inside the colon and can remove growths on the spot. An at-home stool test is the easier first step, and a positive result means a colonoscopy next.
For: Adults 45 to 75Breast
A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast that finds cancer before it can be felt. If you have dense breasts, ask about extra imaging.
For: Women 40 to 74, every other yearCervical
A Pap test, an HPV test, or both, from a quick sample at a routine visit. It catches changes years before they could turn into cancer.
For: Women 21 to 65Lung
A low-dose CT scan of the chest once a year. It is only recommended for people with a long smoking history, because that is where it clearly helps.
For: Adults 50 to 80 who smoked heavilyFull-body MRI
One scan from head to pelvis with no radiation. It can spot things early, but it often finds small, harmless spots that need more tests to rule out.
Cash price: $499 to $3,900
For: An extra layer, not a replacementMulti-cancer blood test
One blood draw that looks for signals from many cancers at once. A signal means more tests, not a diagnosis, and no signal does not mean no cancer.
For: An extra layer, not a replacementPrices that clinics publish on their own websites, across all the cities we cover. Prices change, so confirm with the clinic.
