Hospital-based cancer detection programs for the community

Experimental screening programs have demonstrated the efficacy of screening procedures for cervical, breast, and colorectal cancers but there has not been widespread application of such screening projects to programs suited to community health care facilities. Here, we illustrate how this may be accomplished by use of outpatient facilities, cancer screening clinics in hospitals, or periodic short-term community screening programs. The objective is cancer control through screening and detection programs characterized by application of demonstrated detection procedures, reliance on existing hospital resources, use of minimally invasive screening procedures, promotion targeted to high-risk groups, collaboration with community volunteer organizations, and emphasis on serving persons not already receiving such routine detection services. This paper presents results on the hospital monitoring of Pap smear screening of outpatients and the yield from experience with the community screening program. It also describes the various cancer control activities of an ongoing hospital-based cancer screening clinic.