We all know that annual health checks increase our chances of surviving disease through early detection. They are essential. But should they be a chore? Why not make them a pleasure?

Check-ups are ideal every other year from age 30, increasing to once a year at 40. Early diagnosis is especially useful for the big killer conditions such as cardiovascular disease, including strokes, diabetes and cancers. With early diagnosis, the chances of a cure or successfully management increase dramatically. Associated problems may be prevented and the disease can be made easier to live with.

Figures released this year by Cancer Research UK, for instance, reveal that “Fifty percent of people diagnosed with cancer today will survive at least 10 years”. This combines all forms of cancer, across a full range of adults up to age 99. The results for some cancers are even more impressive. Ten year survival rates for women with breast cancer are 78 percent; for men with testicular cancer, 98 percent; and for cases of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, it’s 89 percent. The most important factor in all these survival rates is early detection.

Your check-up also gives doctors general information about your lifestyle, including smoking, drinking, diet, levels of stress and genetic risk. This enables them to decide which tests to conduct.

From the tests they can discover information about the condition of your major organs, such as heart, liver and kidneys, and conditions like weight, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. From these they identify modifiable risk factors and advise on lifestyle changes that will improve your chances of avoiding certain diseases altogether.

The UK’s Stroke Association says 10,000 strokes could be prevented with early detection and treatment of mini strokes, which often precede full strokes. With extravagant, modern lifestyles, diabetes is fast increasing. Nearly 20 million Americans, for example, are estimated to have the disease. But studies show that early detection is effective in delaying or stopping its progression, through drugs and (sometimes minimal) lifestyle changes.

You may feel perfectly healthy now; early detection ensures you may feel just as healthy in ten years time.

(Article provided by MSH CHINA Network Provider - BNH Hospital)