Health awareness

Make time to get screened for cancer

Find out why it's important to follow cancer screening recommendations

January 15, 2025

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We’ve all had the feeling that there aren’t enough hours in the day. In between everything else on the to-do list, it can feel hard to make your health and annual appointments a priority. However, it’s important to take control of your health and talk to your doctor about what cancer screenings might be recommended for you.

Why timing matters in cancer screening

Time is important with a cancer diagnosis so that treatment can be started early, before cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Cancer screenings can increase the chance of finding disease before a person has symptoms or when cancer is still in earlier stages.

There are screening guidelines for many types of cancer, such as breast, colorectal and lung cancer, as well as melanoma. Screening recommendations often take into consideration a few factors, such as age, family history and lifestyle. Your doctor can help you identify which screenings might be right for you.

As a leader in oncology, we’re committed to addressing the global impact of cancer.

“Through our work to increase access to screening and our other initiatives and programs, we appreciate the importance of finding disease early, before it has spread to help enable early treatment, because we believe people with cancer deserve more,” said Linda Kollmar, associate vice president, medical affairs, value and implementation.

So, make time now to talk to your doctor and to find out if you’re eligible for cancer screening.

We’re working to help address other barriers to cancer screening

Raising awareness about cancer screening is just one way our company works to help improve lives. We also strive to help address barriers to screening and treatment, which is why we work with partners around the globe to support public health initiatives that support recommended screening and create access to high quality cancer care for all patients.

Our support of the American Cancer Society’s Get Screened initiative makes it possible for community members to be screened for breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer who might not have access otherwise. And working with City Cancer Challenge, we support the Patient Navigation Program in Kigali, Rwanda to train nurses as patient navigators who can help people understand health information more easily and gain access to health care options more quickly.

Find out more about how we collaborate with partners around the world to help make cancer care more accessible.

Health awareness

Driving prostate cancer research forward

Our scientists are dedicated to advancing research for potential treatment options for people diagnosed with prostate cancer

September 4, 2024

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It’s estimated that nearly 1.5 million people assigned male at birth were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022 worldwide.

But these patients aren’t just a statistic or a number. They’re our partners, our parents, our children, our siblings and our friends. They’re our loved ones, fighting for better outcomes and a chance for the future. And that’s who we’re fighting for, too.

“Globally, someone is diagnosed with prostate cancer nearly every minute. That’s why we’re working with urgency to advance research and provide potential treatment options for patients living with this disease.”

• Dr. Kentaro Imai, distinguished scientist, oncology, prostate clinical research

The impact of prostate cancer on patients

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in patients assigned male at birth worldwide. The average age at diagnosis is 66 years old. Prostate cancers is more likely to develop among those with African ancestry or a family history of the disease.

Prostate cancer can be genetic in other ways, too. Several inherited genetic mutations — such as those of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes — can increase prostate cancer risk. These types of genetic mutations, among others, can be identified through testing your tumor (also known as biomarker testing).

For those patients who are diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer, the prognosis is promising, with a five-year survival rate of nearly 100%. However, for patients with prostate cancer at an advanced stage, the outcomes can be dramatically different, and the five-year survival rate remains low.

“As with many cancers, patients with prostate cancer have the greatest chance of survival when their disease is detected early,” said Dr. Imai. “The prognosis for prostate cancer worsens as it spreads to other areas of the body, given that there are limited treatment options at that stage. It’s critical that we push forward to identify new options for these patients.”

Our commitment to prostate cancer research

Our science, coupled with new insights into the disease, continues to guide us as we pursue clinical advancements in prostate cancer.

"Our scientists are working diligently each and every day in an effort to discover new solutions for patients with prostate cancer."

— Dr. Kentaro Imai

Distinguished scientist, oncology, prostate clinical research

Since the next breakthrough can come from anywhere or anyone, we regularly collaborate across the entire prostate cancer community, working with health care providers, other companies, academia and advocates to gain a deeper understanding and make progress for patients with prostate cancer.

“The fight against prostate cancer is constantly evolving, and therefore our approach to the disease must evolve, as well,” said Dr. Imai. “We’re committed to pushing boundaries in pursuit of breakthrough advances that have the potential to change the lives of patients living with prostate cancer.”

Health awareness

Why you shouldn’t postpone cancer screenings

Our company teamed up with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness on cancer screenings and help support access for everyone

August 15, 2024

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Fear is a powerful emotion, especially when it comes to cancer.

Fear of what a screening test might discover, fear of potential discomfort and fear of the unknown kept Terry Craft from getting a regular cancer screening.

He decided to see a doctor after an intense and painful episode of constipation, an appointment he says he should have had 10 years earlier. Craft was 47 years old when he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.

“My wife actually wanted me to have a colonoscopy when I was in my late 30s because I had a little bout and I said, ‘No, I’m not doing that,’” says Craft.

“I didn’t get screened because I was afraid of it. I just didn’t want to know if there was something that might be serious or life-threatening. It was a fear factor for me.”

• Terry Craft
  Colon cancer survivor

He says his doctors told him his tumor had potentially been growing ever since that experience in his 30s.

“Had I gone for a simple screening 10 years prior I might have, as I say, ‘nipped it in the bud’ and it might have just been a rogue polyp, who knows,” says Craft. “But because I didn’t, I had to go through a lot and it wasn’t just me — when cancer affects one member of a family, it affects everyone.”

“Due to pandemic-related delays in screening for breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancers, many cancers could be going undiagnosed and untreated and may advance to later stages and be more difficult to treat,” says Laura Makaroff, senior vice president of prevention and early detection at American Cancer Society. “We foresee that those reductions in health care access and cancer screening will result in a short-term drop in cancer diagnoses and a later corresponding increase in late-stage diagnoses and potentially preventable deaths. “

Craft is in remission today, and he makes it a point to tell others just how important cancer screenings are, no matter what the results might be.

“It’s OK to understand what’s going on,” says Craft. “You want to know, don’t hide from it. If you hide from it, the outcome might not be what I experienced. It could be a deadly outcome.”

Early detection matters

Darleen Alston didn’t have health insurance when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019. She says if it wasn’t for the free mammogram that she received through a cancer screening program, it “could have been months” before she knew she had cancer.

“I can say that it [screening] saves lives because it saved mine.”

• Darleen Alston
  Breast cancer survivor

While many people face different kinds of barriers to getting the medical care they need, having access to preventative health screenings shouldn’t be one of them.

“I tell everybody, go get your mammogram. And if you can’t afford it, go to the screening. They’ll do it for free,” says Alston. “You’re not going to lose anything by going. You’re going to lose your life, maybe, if you don’t go.”

Preventative care is for everyone

There are cancer screening resources available to help people who are uninsured or underinsured find low-cost or free cancer screenings.

To help these efforts and improve cancer screening rates, Merck teamed up with the American Cancer Society (ACS) and their Get Screened campaign.

Our company, along with other sponsors, joined ACS in its goal to raise $30 million for a national initiative to help support access to recommended cancer screenings. The initiative includes collaborations with key stakeholders, including state and local health systems, to implement evidence-based screening interventions and public policy solutions that may benefit all.

“It’s important to ensure access for everyone to recommended cancer screenings to reduce screening disparities and unnecessary cancer deaths,” says Makaroff. “During the pandemic, we know that disparities in cancer screenings increased for people with greater social or economic barriers. Through our Get Screened campaign, the American Cancer Society is working to increase regular screening rates for everyone to help save more lives.”