Cancer Screening

Finding Cancer Early

Cancer found early is usually easier to treat, and the outcomes are better. That is the whole argument for screening.

We offer screening alongside ordinary GP care, including blood tests that can pick up signs of cancer before there are any symptoms.

Trucheck Intelli

We are one of a small number of practices offering Trucheck Intelli, a blood test that screens for up to 70 types of solid tumour.

How it works: Most screening relies on imaging or a biopsy. Trucheck Intelli instead looks for circulating tumour cells in the blood: cells that have broken away from a tumour and entered the bloodstream.

• Broad scope: covers melanoma, breast, prostate, lung and bowel cancers among many others.
• Accuracy: validation data shows high sensitivity with a low false-positive rate.
• Non-invasive: one blood draw, nothing else.

The test is included as standard in our Platinum Health Check.

Tumour Marker Blood Tests

We also use the established tumour marker tests, which measure proteins in the blood that can be raised when certain cancers are present.

The markers we test for include:

• PSA (prostate specific antigen): prostate health.
• CA-125: associated with ovarian cancer.
• CA 19-9: associated with pancreatic and bowel cancers.
• CEA: a general marker, often raised in bowel cancer.

These are useful tests, but they need interpreting by a doctor. Levels can be raised for entirely benign reasons.

Why We Insist on a Consultation

Screening is a powerful thing, and it needs handling carefully. A positive result is unsettling, and a clear result does not guarantee good health.

So we do not sell these tests off the shelf. Every screen starts with an appointment with one of our GPs, where we will:

1. Go through your family history and your own risk factors.
2. Explain what the test can and cannot tell you.
3. Make sure you know what the result will mean before you have it.

If something needs following up, we will arrange the right specialist or scan straight away.

Screening Packages

Screening works best as part of a full health check.

Gold Health Check (£615) A full physical, an ECG, and the blood-based cancer markers (ovarian or prostate, bowel and pancreatic).

Platinum Health Check (£1,625) Everything in the general assessment, plus Trucheck Intelli.

Pricing

You can book a consultation to talk about screening on its own, or choose one of the packages.

See all health check packages