Screening for mesothelioma
Screening means testing people for early stages of an illness before they have any symptoms. There is no UK screening programme for mesothelioma.
What is cancer screening?
Screening means testing people for early stages of a disease. This is before they have any symptoms. For screening to be useful the tests:
- need to be reliable at picking up cancers
- overall must do more good than harm to people taking part
- must be something that people are willing to do
Screening tests are not perfect and have some risks. The screening programme should also be good value for money for the NHS.
Screening for mesothelioma
There is currently no reliable screening test for mesothelioma.
At the moment it can be difficult to diagnose mesothelioma. The usual tests for lung diseases often appear to be negative.
What to do if you think you are at risk?
Your GP will monitor you if you have a high risk of developing mesothelioma. For example, if you have been exposed to asbestos in the past.
See your GP if you have any symptoms that could be due to mesothelioma.
