Life-saving prevention: How to protect yourself from cancer and heart attacks!

Life-saving prevention: How to protect yourself from cancer and heart attacks!

In Germany, cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the most common causes of death, claiming the lives of around a million people every year. More than half of these deaths are due to these two groups of diseases, which are alarming numbers. But how can you counteract this trend? RND reports that there are effective prevention options, especially for colon and breast cancer.

Early detection plays a crucial role because it can significantly increase the chances of recovery and significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks or strokes. However, it is found that many important preventive examinations are insufficiently used in Germany. Interestingly, there are significant differences in the use of these examinations between the federal states.

Important preventive examinations

The general health check-up is available from the age of 35, and younger people aged 18 and over can also have themselves examined if there are any risks. The essential values ​​that should be determined during preventive examinations include blood pressure, blood fat and blood sugar. High blood pressure checks are recorded in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg; However, fewer than two-thirds of adults have their blood lipids and blood sugar levels checked.

When it comes to early detection of colon cancer, it is important to carry out a test for hidden blood in the stool annually from the age of 50 and every two years from the age of 55, or two colonoscopies ten years apart. Despite these recommendations, only around 60 percent of those entitled to preventive care take part in colonoscopies, with the rates in Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt in particular being alarmingly low.

For women, early breast cancer detection begins with a palpation examination starting at the age of 30 and a mammogram every two years for women between 50 and 75 years old. However, of the 5.6 million women invited to mammograms in 2022, only about 50 percent took up the opportunity. Germans still have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to taking advantage of preventive medical examinations. Other important examinations to consider include skin cancer screening from the age of 35, the PAP test for cervical cancer from the age of 20 and the annual prostate cancer examination from the age of 45.

The need for action is great

The PSA test is recommended, especially for early detection of prostate cancer, but is not covered by statutory health insurance companies. A positive aspect is that men aged 65 and over are entitled to a one-time ultrasound examination of abdominal aortic aneurysms. All of these measures show how important it is to strive for regular health checks.

As in German Heart Report 2025 stated, standardized screening programs to prevent cardiovascular diseases should be introduced urgently. These diseases are the most common cause of death in Germany. According to Statsitik, there were over 348,300 deaths from cardiovascular diseases in 2023. In the over 65 age group, mortality from cardiovascular diseases is more than 60 times higher than in 25 to 29 year olds. Experts are therefore calling for nationwide prevention efforts in order to reach particularly socially disadvantaged population groups who can increasingly benefit from these preventive examinations.

Every individual can actively contribute to promoting their health. Raising awareness of the importance of preventive examinations should be at the top of the agenda, as this is the only way to improve the alarming figures in the long term. If more and more people take advantage of prevention and early detection options, this could save many people's lives.