Cancer Screening
Don’t let cancer take away precious moments with your loved ones. Make the good times last with a cancer screening.
Your risk of developing cancer increases as you grow older. A cancer screening can help detect early signs of cancer before any symptoms appear.
Many cancers, such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer, respond better to treatment when detected early. If you wait till symptoms appear, it may mean the cancer has progressed to an advanced stage and spread to other parts of the body, making treatment more difficult.
At Parkway Shenton, we offer cancer screening packages that are affordable and customisable to your needs. The types of screening tests you should get will depend on your age, gender, family history, and whether you have risk factors for specific cancers.
Speak to our doctors to recommend a suitable cancer screening package for you.
Recommended cancer screening
If you are at average risk (meaning you do not have any symptoms or family history of cancer), you may consider these screening guidelines recommended by the Ministry of Health Singapore:
| Age | Screening for women | Screening for men |
|---|---|---|
| 18 - 24 |
|
|
| 25 - 39 |
|
|
| 40 - 49 |
|
|
| 50 - 64 |
|
|
| 65 years and above |
|
|
How to book a cancer screening
You can book a cancer screening package at any Parkway Shenton clinic or Executive Health Screening (EHS) clinic.
For enquiries, call our dedicated cancer care helpline at +65 6812 3396.
You may also download our MyHealth360 app to check clinic availability, book a screening package, and receive confirmation on your appointment.
Types of common cancer screening tests
Screening is especially effective in the prevention and early detection of cancers such as breast cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer. Here are some common screening tests used to detect signs of specific cancers.
- Tumour markers blood test looks for specific cancer markers in your blood, which may indicate the presence of cancer.
- Full blood count measures the levels of blood cells and platelets in your blood, which can help diagnose blood cancers such as leukaemia and lymphoma.
- Pap smear tests for cervical cancer and is recommended once every 3 years for women between ages 25 – 29.
- HPV DNA test checks for high-risk, potentially cancerous HPV strains in your cervical cells and is recommended once every 5 years for sexually active women (or had past sexual intercourse) above age 30.
- Mammogram is the most cost-effective screening test for breast cancer. It is recommended once every year for women between ages 40 – 49 and once every 2 years for women between the ages 50 – 69.
- Breast ultrasound uses sound waves to produce images of the breast and detect abnormalities, such as fluid-filled cysts, that are harder to diagnose on a mammogram.
- Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) looks for hidden blood in your stools, which may indicate colon cancer. Both men and women aged 50 and above should undergo this test once a year.
- Colonoscopy detects early signs of colon abnormalities and removes potentially cancerous polyps to prevent colorectal cancer.
- CT colonography is a minimally invasive test that uses X-rays to examine the inside of your colon and screen for colorectal cancer.
- Prostate ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to capture images of a man’s prostate gland, which can help diagnose urinary symptoms and detect signs of prostate cancer.
Cancer screening packages
$822 (with GST) for men
$1,025 (with GST) for women
- Breast mammogram*
- Breast ultrasound*
- Cervical Pap smear (ThinPrep)
- Cervical Pap smear (ThinPrep) and HPV DNA test
- Chest low-dose CT scan*
- Chest X-ray*
- Screening colonoscopy*
If you have a health screening enquiry, please email us or leave a message here. We will get back to you within 3 working days.
Make an enquiryCertain screening tests, such as blood tests and ultrasound scans, may require you to fast for at least 8 – 10 hours prior to the test. You will usually be asked to abstain from food from 12am on the day of your appointment. Drinking plain water is permitted. Our clinic staff will advise you on whether fasting is required for your tests and when you should start fasting.
If you are taking the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT), please collect the kit from any of our Parkway Shenton or Executive Health Screening clinics. Collect your stool sample 1 day before your appointment, and store it at room temperature away from sunlight.
For females, kindly note that Pap smear, urine, blood tumour markers and stool tests should be done at least 5 days after your period to ensure better accuracy of results. Do inform our clinic staff if you require further assistance. If you are going for a mammogram, please do not wear any perfume, cream or cosmetics under your arms or around the chest area.
For more details, please refer to our pre-screening guidelines.
Our cancer screening packages will take approximately 1 – 3 hours to complete, depending on the types of screening tests required.
For blood tests, a blood sample will be taken from a vein in your arm. You may feel a slight sting as the needle is inserted or removed. This test usually takes less than 5 minutes.
Imaging tests such as ultrasound and CT scans will be done at one of our Executive Health Screening (EHS) clinics in a hospital. You may return for a follow-up appointment at your preferred Parkway Shenton or EHS clinic to review your test results with a doctor.
There is very little risk associated with blood tests. You may experience slight pain or bruising at the site where the needle was inserted, but these should resolve quickly within a few days.
Some imaging tests, such as mammograms and CT scans, may expose you to radiation from X-rays. However, the risk is low and does not outweigh the benefits of health screening.
There is no risk associated with urine or stool tests.
It may take around 1 – 2 weeks for the test results to be ready. Your doctor will review the results with you and advise on follow-up action, if necessary. You can also opt for online copies of the results or collect physical copies in person or via mail.
Raised tumour markers do not necessarily indicate the presence of cancer. Some benign conditions can also result in elevated levels of tumour markers. To confirm if cancer is present, you may need further investigations such as imaging tests or a biopsy. Please consult your doctor for more advice.
Cancer screening can be a powerful way to help detect cancer early, but it is not always accurate. It may falsely label a normal tissue as potentially cancerous (false positive) and cause a false alarm. Any abnormal findings may require further investigations or a referral to a specialist, and this may cause anxiety in people being diagnosed for cancer.
Sometimes, cancer screenings may also miss a cancer and not pick up all occult diseases (false negative).
If in doubt, speak with your doctor to understand the benefits and limitations of screening, and to determine the most appropriate screening tests for you.
