Kate Middleton’s Cancer Diagnosis Raises Importance of Preventive Screenings in Women

A local cancer expert is speaking out about the importance of early cancer detection, following the announcement from Kate, the Princess of Wales, revealing she has cancer.

Peter Ledakis, M.D., is a top rated and highly regarded doctor of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Mercy, and has been a cancer doctor for more than 20 years.

"From what we know so far, she had abdominal surgery. If someone has abdominal surgery for cancer, most likely they have cancer originating in the bowel in the gastrointestinal," Ledakis said. "Which is usually colon cancer, but it can be other things too."

He said the most common types of cancer he sees are colon, ovarian and breast cancer.

"From a colon cancer point of view, it's very important to detect it early," Dr. Ledakis said.

Dr. Ledakis recommends a type of annual screening for colon cancer, he said a colonoscopy is highly encouraged for anyone over the age of 40.

"A colonoscopy every 10 years for a person who does not have a family history of colon cancer or they have not had cancer before," he said. "It's not just going to detect the cancer earlier, but you can actually remove the tumors that if you don't remove them eventually, they'll become cancer later in life."

For ovarian cancer, Dr. Ledakis said it's typically found in women who are in their 50s, 60s or 70s. However, he said there is not a good way to detect it yet.

"By the time they have detected it, because we don't have good tests, it has produced symptoms already. So many women with ovarian cancer, by the time they find it, they already have pain, they have bowel obstruction, so they have to have surgery," Dr. Ledakis said.

Regarding breast cancer, Dr. Ledakis recommends women begin receiving annual mammograms at age 40.

"In the United States the trend is to do annual mammograms every year after the age of 40 years old. Some other associations, after the age of 45," Ledakis told 11 News. "In the United Kingdom, as far as I know, the recommendation is to start at the age of 47, every two to three years."

Dr. Ledakis noted that everyone should consult with their primary care physician about what to test for, when, based on their age and family history.

View Dr. Peter Ledakis interview on preventive cancer screenings in women.