Don’t forget the checkups

An important part of preventative wellness is catching problems while they are small. Just as you should take your car in for regular oil changes and tune ups, you should also get regular health check-ups, depending on your age and gender. Doing so may help catch potentially serious health issues before they become health or financial tragedies for you and your family.

What types of checkups are important? Here are some:
For women:

What When Why
pap tests and pelvic exams every 1-3 years, may stop after age 65 if previous exams have shown no abnormal results screens for cervical cancer, sexually transmitted illnesses
self breast exams monthly screen for breast cancer
mammogram with or without clinical breast exam every 1-2 years as recommended by your doctor after age 40 screen for breast cancer

For Everyone:

What When Why
blood pressure screening once a year if you do not have a history of hypertension, daily-monthly if you do regularly high blood pressure can contribute to many conditions including stroke and kidney failure
blood sugar screening once a year if you do not have a history diabetes screen for diabetic or pre-diabetic condition
colonoscopy/sigmoidoscopy every 5 -10 years after age 50, consult your doctor screen for colon cancer

If you do have insurance, many of these tests can be performed by either a conventional or naturopathic physician or nurse practitioner in Washington or Oregon. If you don’t have insurance, and the doctor visit or testing fees are beyond your means, there is often help available. A good resource for low cost or free medical services in the Portland/Vancouver area is the Coalition of Community Clinics: http://www.coalitionclinics.org/. Their website has an online clinic finder and more information on low cost options for health care.

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