Most people would agree that cancer screening is a good thing. After all, you're either preventing cancer or catching it early. Unfortunately, the majority of cancer screening guidelines may be lacking in important patient information.

Catching cancer early can save lives, but screening too often — without good reason — may be costly and harmful.

Regular cancer screenings are widely regarded as an important part of preventive medicine, particularly for people in midlife. But those same screenings might cause more harm than good in older patients facing a limited life expectancy.