Time to Schedule Your Medical Appointments!
“Did you make your dental appointment yet?” Over one year has passed since our lives were upended with Covid-19. So many of us have cancelled or missed our important medical appointments and we need to take care of ourselves. We need our routine health maintenance, which includes height, weight, blood pressure and laboratory tests depending on your health and your family history. And these have been missed. Now is the time to make your dental appointments, mammograms, colonoscopies, physicals and all of our other necessary visits.
The worry is that by missing our cancer screening tests, by the time it may be picked up, it may be at a later stage, and more difficult to cure or treat. And we forget that a dental exam is not just to look for cavities, but to prevent gum disease, which can lead to other health problems down the road. Our dentists also look for signs of oral cancer, something we need to be aware and which can be treated if caught early on.
The recommendation of when to get screened changes, and there are different recommendations based on who is doing the recommendations.
Per the CDC, mammograms should be done every two years for healthy women between the ages of 50 and 75. And women should be doing self examinations every month. Getting them done before 50 is controversial, but it is individually based (family history, first child born after age 30, or no children) may change the frequency and when to start. This is another reason we need our health maintenance examinations, to discuss your own need for testing with your health care provider. To screen for colorectal cancer, a colonoscopy every ten years beginning at age 50 is essential. Of course, if you note any blood in your stool, have a family history of colorectal cancer or have changes in your bowel habits, this will need to be done sooner. A pap smear for women should be done every 3 years starting at age 21, and HPV testing beginning at age 30. For current and former cigarette smokers, (more than 30 pack years, which is one pack per day) lung cancer screening includes an annual CT scan beginning at age 55. If you haven’t smoked in more than 15 years, this screening is unnecessary.
Another reason for going for your health maintenance exam is to complete your immunizations. Yes, you still need shots as an adult. We need our tetanus shot, which has changed and now includes pertussis (aka whooping cough.) This is of utmost importance if you are a parent or a grandparent as pertussis is still a threat. We also need a shot to protect us against shingles, aka zoster. This is for those of us who have had chickenpox as a child. And don’t forget our Covid-19 immunizations, annual influenza shots and pneumonia.
We need to learn to rely on ourselves to stay healthy and keep up to date on our doctor and dentist visits, and preventive tests. If you don’t know what you need reach out to a patient advocate and take charge of your health care needs. Get back into healthy living and become EMPOWERED!
#beyourownadvocate, #patientadvocate