Early detection
The earlier most cancers are found, the more treatment options there usually are.
Plain-language cancer screening guidelines by age for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancer, based on USPSTF and American Cancer Society guidance — plus a personalized checklist tool.
Which screenings are right for your age?
For adults at average risk with no symptoms. It takes five seconds, and nothing you enter leaves your device.
Some screenings depend on the body parts you have, such as a cervix or a prostate. Transgender and nonbinary screening
Enter your age to see which cancer screenings are recommended, which to ask about, and what is coming up.
Based on U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations; other groups, such as the American Cancer Society, differ slightly. Screening is for people without symptoms. If you have a symptom, see a doctor rather than waiting for a screening. Full guidelines by age. Educational only, not medical advice.
Family history, a gene change like BRCA or Lynch syndrome, or a past cancer? Your schedule may start earlier. The full checkup asks about these.
Get your personal checklistCommon screenings, by roughly what age
Recommended ages differ by cancer type, and expert groups (USPSTF, American Cancer Society) don't always agree exactly — that's normal, not a sign the guidance is unreliable. These are starting points for average-risk adults, sourced from USPSTF and ACS guidance.
If you have a family history, an inherited gene change, or a past cancer diagnosis, your own plan will likely start earlier or run more often than the ages below — that's exactly what the personalized checklist and a conversation with your doctor are for.
- Breast cancer — mammogramUSPSTF: every other year from 40 to 74 for average-risk women. American Cancer Society: annually from 45 (option to start at 40). Family history can move this earlier.
- Cervical cancer — Pap/HPV testStarts at 21. Ages 21–29: Pap test every 3 years. Ages 30–65: Pap every 3 years, HPV every 5, or both together every 5 years. Most can stop after 65 with several normal results and no history of high-grade precancer or cervical cancer. After a hysterectomy that removed the cervix, screening can stop only if there was no such history; ask your doctor to check your records.
- Colorectal cancerAverage-risk screening commonly starts around 45 and continues into the mid-70s. Options include at-home stool tests and colonoscopy — ask which fits you.
- Lung cancer — low-dose CTFor adults 50–80 with a 20 pack-year smoking history who still smoke or quit within the last 15 years. Not a general-population screening.
- Prostate cancer — PSA testNot automatic. Men 55–69 are advised to discuss benefits and harms of PSA testing with their doctor and decide together. Some higher-risk men may start earlier.
Why this isn't one-size-fits-all
A screening test looks for cancer before symptoms appear — but every test has both benefits and harms (false positives, unnecessary follow-up procedures, and for some tests, overdiagnosis).
That's exactly why the ages above are guidelines, not a personal prescription. A personalized checklist that accounts for your age, sex, smoking history, and family history gives a far more useful starting point for a conversation with your doctor than a generic age chart can.