[Image: Cheer up!]

• Early cancer detection may lead to higher rates of successful treatment
• Successful treatment may prevent the progression of cancer
• Treatment for early stage cancer may be mild and lead to less side effects

[Image: A senior with worrying face]

• It may fail to detect cancer even when it is present, thereby providing false reassurance
• It may cause false alarm, unnecessary anxiety and potentially risky investigations to be done, when there is actually no cancer
• The screening test itself, subsequent investigations and treatment may have side effects