How do they catch things like kidney disease early? I have stage four kidney disease and there are barely any symptoms. Stage five means dialysis. For me it is too late to properly fix it but if caught early with regular blood tests there are ways to slow it down. My feeling is regular blood tests are a necessity for many health issues.

I had a kidney disease while in puberty, specifically nephritis. Since then, I take a blood test every six months. It's a great habit because it can catch a lot of problems, for example diabetes, cholesterol levels, etc. Urinary tests are also very good because they can detect stones in your kidneys.

Isn't that rather expensive?

A standard set of the most common 25 or so blood tests costs total $50 in the US. You can get it ordered online and go to a local lab to get it tested. They will post the results online and note if anything is out of range.

Where I live (Greece), it's like 40 euros.

You can get a checkup every two years when you're 40+ (paid for by your health insurance). Also skin cancer screening.

Yes, that is how I remember it as well.