Dr. Amar Rewari on WUSA9: Cancer Screenings Are the Best Prevention

Dr. Amar Rewari, Chief of Radiation Oncology at Luminis Health and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, appeared on WUSA9 to urge DMV-area residents to schedule their cancer screenings following the death of Dolly Parton.

Dr. Rewari noted that his practice consistently sees a rise in screening appointments after a public figure's cancer diagnosis or death becomes news, and he encouraged viewers to channel that attention into a conversation with their primary care physician. "Cancer screenings matter the most in terms of cancer prevention," he told WUSA9.

The segment also covered reasons for optimism in oncology. With the American Cancer Society projecting roughly 2.1 million new cancer diagnoses in the United States in 2026, Dr. Rewari pointed out that cancer death rates peaked in the 1990s and that cure rates have been climbing since. He highlighted the FDA's recent approval of a pancreatic cancer drug targeting the KRAS protein — which he compared to an accelerator pedal for cell growth stuck in the on position — as well as promising late-stage trial results for an experimental melanoma vaccine. Cancer vaccines, he explained, function as treatment rather than prevention, training the immune system to recognize and attack tumor cells and helping prevent recurrence.

Dr. Rewari closed by reviewing the American Cancer Society's screening guidelines: mammograms beginning at 40, colorectal screening at 45, cervical cancer screening at 25, a prostate cancer conversation at 45 for high-risk men, and lung cancer screening at 50 for former smokers. Patients at elevated risk, he added, should begin earlier.

September is awareness month for childhood cancer, leukemia and lymphoma, ovarian, prostate, thyroid, and gynecologic cancers.