What should the physician ask?

The physician who deals with the general public rather than with high risk groups has a considerable disadvantage to overcome. This is because the effectiveness or impact of a control program is directly related to the prevalence of the condition sought in the population at hand. Thus, the physician must develop a set of "verbal screens" which will permit him to select the sub-segments of his general population which should be screened conventionally. These verbal screens may be of two types: 1) a simple inquiry as to whether a generally accepted screening test has been applied within the last year or two, and 2) an inquiry as to whether any risk factors of the more common cancers are present. For cancer of the cervix, women who have first intercourse at an early age or who are of the lower social strata should be identified for screening. For breast cancer, women who are nulliparous, have first birth at a late age, or a family history of breast cancer should be identified.