As women age, health-test priority changes

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As women age, health-test priority changes

By Beth Faller

Arizona Republic

Routine screening is a good way to catch health

problems at an early stage, when most conditions are

curable.

As women age, different issues become a priority. Talk

to your doctor about screening. In addition to age,

your family and personal history can affect which

tests you may need, as well as their timing and

frequency. Here are some routine screenings women

need:

20S: REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Chlamydia, a bacterial infection of the genitals, is

the most common sexually transmitted disease among men

and women. Left untreated, chlamydia can lead to

pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy,

infertility and an increased chance of HIV infection.

Chlamydia usually has no symptoms.

Tests:

Pap test by age 21, or sooner if sexually active, to

detect cervical cancer.

Chlamydia test annually, if sexually active.

Fact: Both partners must be treated with antibiotics

to be cured of chlamydia.

More information: See www.itsyoursexlife.com,

sponsored by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation,

for a quiz on how much you know about STDs.

30S: EYE HEALTH

Glaucoma is a group of diseases that usually share the

common symptom of high eye pressure. Women are more

susceptible to a type called normal tension glaucoma,

in which eye pressure is not high. The disease's cause

is unknown, and a woman may not know she has it. All

types of glaucoma are diagnosed during an eye exam,

which is recommended beginning in the 30s.

Tests:

Glaucoma test at age 35 using tonometry and

ophthalmoscopy to measure eye pressure and examine the

inside of the eye for abnormalities in the optic nerve

that may indicate glaucoma.

Routine eye exam with dilated pupils by age 30 if you

haven't had one in a few years.

Fact: Presybopia, the condition that makes people hold

a newspaper at arm's length, begins by the late 30s.

More information: Visit the Glaucoma Research

Foundation, www.glaucoma.org, to read about

treatments.

40S: BREAST HEALTH

Some health practitioners used to advocate mammograms

at age 40, but the practice has come into question. If

you have a strong family history of breast or ovarian

cancer, you may want to talk to your doctor about

genetic testing.

Tests:

Monthly breast self-exam.

Yearly clinical breast exam.

Mammogram, possibly every one to two years (ask your

doctor how often, based on personal risk factors).

Fact: Women who have had breast implants must have

mammograms done at a lab whose technicians are

experienced in dealing with them.

More information: Visit the Women's Cancer Network,

www.wcn.org, for a breast cancer risk assessment quiz.

50S: COLORECTAL HEALTH

The chances of getting colon cancer increase greatly

after 50, and women are just as likely as men to get

it. Colon cancer starts with small growths in the

colon that are not cancerous; that is why regular

screening to detect these growths is so important.

Tests:

Yearly fecal occult blood test, performed at home and

given to the doctor to detect tiny amounts of blood in

the stool from any growths in the colon.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years. A doctor

inserts a 2-foot-long lighted tube in the rectum to

check the lower part of the colon for abnormalities.

Colonoscopy every 10 years. A doctor inserts a lighted

tube in the rectum to check the entire colon for

abnormalities.

Fact: People between the ages of 50 and 80 who take

the fecal occult blood test every one or two years are

33 percent less likely to die of colon cancer than

those who do not take the test.

More information: Visit the American Cancer Society,

www.cancer.org, to learn about the link between colon

cancer and eating red meat.

60S+: BONE HEALTH

Women can lose up to 20 percent of their bone mass in

the five to seven years after menopause, leaving them

susceptible to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is called

the " silent disease " because there are no symptoms of

bone loss until a sudden strain or bump causes a

fracture.

Test: Bone-mass measurement, usually an X-ray-type

test, at least once by age 65. Younger women with

significant risk factors, such as a history of

medicinal steroid use or strong family history, might

have the test earlier. A doctor should decide.

Fact: Exercise not only helps maintain bone mass but

can improve balance and help prevent falls and

possible bone fractures.

More information: Visit the National Osteoporosis

Foundation, www.nof.org, for ways to prevent the

crippling bone disease.

Sources: Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention,

www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu; Henry J. Kaiser

Family Foundation; Glaucoma Research Foundation;

Women's Cancer Network; American Cancer Society;

National Osteoporosis Foundation