MEDICAL TESTS; Checkup is best prescription for preventing most illnesses.(LIFE - HEALTH)

0 Comments | Washington Times, The, June, 2006

Byline: Jen Waters, THE WASHINGTON TIMES It has been Dr. Elmer Huerta's dream to have a clinic bearing a sign that says: "Only for people without symptoms." As the director of the Cancer Preventorium at the Washington Hospital Center's Washington Cancer Institute, he encourages people to go for a checkup before they become sick.

When he worked as an oncologist, he became frustrated when he realized how many of his patients' conditions could have been prevented. "If you intervene early and find conditions earlier, then you provide better quality of life," Dr. Huerta says. "You give more years to people, and you save a lot of money." Prevention is the key to saving many lives. Getting a yearly physical exam and knowing family history of disease can greatly...