Your Partner in Prevention, Diagnosis, and Care
This guide provides a clear overview of the cancer screening services available to your patients through the Baptist Health system. By helping facilitate timely, guideline-based screenings, you play a critical role in detecting cancer early—when it’s most treatable—and improving long-term outcomes.
Should further evaluation or treatment be necessary, your patients will have direct access to the advanced diagnostic and therapeutic services of the UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center. Our integrated approach ensures a seamless continuum of care—from screening to diagnosis to personalized treatment planning—all within one trusted network.
We value your role in early detection and are committed to partnering with you to deliver exceptional, coordinated cancer care to your patients.
Breast Cancer Screenings
Baptist Health offers several ways to help detect breast cancer early:
- Annual Mammography: Our standard, highly effective screening for breast cancer.
- 3D Mammography (Tomosynthesis): Provides clearer, more detailed images, especially helpful for dense breast tissue.
- ABUS (Automated Breast Ultrasound System): An advanced ultrasound specifically designed to find small cancers that might be missed in dense breast tissue.
- Breast MRI: A powerful imaging tool often used for high-risk patients or for further evaluation.
- High Risk and Genetic Testing: Utilizes advanced technology to help individuals make informed decisions that promote early detection and/or risk reduction. For more information about the Baptist Health High-Risk Breast & Hereditary Cancer Clinic, please click here.
Imaging Centers
Baptist Health offers comprehensive imaging services across multiple convenient locations, ensuring that your patients receive timely and advanced diagnostic care. Physicians can confidently refer patients for a wide range of imaging needs. View imaging site hours, services offered, and phone number for each location on our Imaging Locations Page.
Cervical Cancer Screenings
There are three primary methods for cervical cancer screening:
- HPV Test: This test identifies the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types, which are known to cause cervical cancer.
- Pap Test (Pap Smear/Cervical Cytology): This method involves collecting cervical cells to examine them for changes caused by HPV. These changes, if not treated, could develop into cervical cancer. A Pap test can detect both precancerous and cancerous cells, and sometimes also reveals non-cancerous conditions like infections or inflammation.
- HPV/Pap Cotest: This combines both the HPV test and the Pap test to screen for both high-risk HPV and cervical cell changes simultaneously.
Colon Cancer Screenings
We provide both convenient at-home tests and visual exams:
Stool-based Tests (at-home options):
- Highly sensitive Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT): Done once a year, this simple test looks for hidden blood in the stool.
- Highly sensitive Guaiac-based Fecal Occult Blood Test (gFOBT): Also done once a year, it’s another easy way to check for hidden blood.
- Multi-targeted Stool DNA Test (MT-sDNA): This test is done every 3 years and can detect altered DNA in the stool that might indicate cancer.
Visual Exams:
- Colonoscopy: The gold standard, typically done every 10 years, allowing for a thorough examination and polyp removal.
- CT Colonography (Virtual Colonoscopy): A less invasive X-ray procedure done every 5 years.
- Flexible Sigmoidoscopy (FSIG): Performed every 5 years, often combined with an air contrast barium enema, to view the lower part of the colon.
Prostate Cancer Screenings
For men, we offer key screening tools for prostate health:
- Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test: A simple blood test measures the level of prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate, in the blood. Elevated PSA levels can indicate prostate cancer but can also be caused by other conditions like inflammation or enlargement, so it’s often used alongside other exams to help assess prostate health.
- Digital Rectal Exam (DRE): A quick, simple procedure used to help detect abnormalities in the prostate, such as lumps or enlargement, that could be signs of prostate cancer. While it may feel slightly uncomfortable, the exam is brief and can be an important tool in early detection.
Lung Cancer Screenings
For individuals at higher risk of lung cancer, we offer:
- Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT): A specialized CT scan that can find small lung abnormalities.
- Ion Robotic-Assisted Bronchoscopy System: Enables precise, minimally invasive biopsies even for small and hard-to-reach nodules, allowing for earlier and more accurate diagnoses.
Our team at Baptist Health is committed to providing accessible and effective screening options to your patients. We look forward to partnering with you in their care! For more information, visit Baptist Health Cancer Care or call the UAMS Baptist Health Cancer Center at (501) 202-4715.