Private MD News

Early cancer tests can bring life-saving treatment

Updated: 2009-08-31 20:25:50 CST Category: Cancer Detection and Tumor Markers

by Francis Ma

While there is currently no cure for cancer, people who detect their condition early through a cancer test may be eligible to receive life-saving medication and treatments.

This past May Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and will be forced to miss the entire 2009-2010 college football season. The 21-year-old must go through at least five rounds of chemotherapy to treat his condition, called Ewing's sarcoma.

Doctors have told ESPN.com that early treatment appears to be going well, which has allowed the young football player to hope a return to the field is possible in the future.

"Things are going really well," Herzlich told ESPN recently. "The goal right now is to get rid of the tumor completely and to be healthy. That's the goal right now and they're encouraged that's what's going to happen."

It was early detection that is allowing Herzlich the opportunity to hope to emerge victorious from this disease. While this may not be the case for everyone afflicted with cancer, many health officials have agreed that early detection through cancer tests are the best form of treatment for the incurable disease.

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