Originally published October 7 2005
Priorities change in the healthcare of aging women
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Arizona Republic addresses one of aging's subtler impacts on women's health, notably how healthcare issues in the life of the average woman shift dramatically in their importance according to what phase of life you find yourself in.
Routine screening is a good way to catch health problems at an early stage, when most conditions are curable.
In addition to age, your family and personal history can affect which tests you may need, as well as their timing and frequency.
Left untreated, chlamydia can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility and an increased chance of HIV infection.
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.
All types of glaucoma are diagnosed during an eye exam, which is recommended beginning in the 30s.
If you have a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer, you may want to talk to your doctor about genetic testing.
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.
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.
A doctor inserts a 2-foot-long lighted tube in the rectum to check the lower part of the 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.
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.
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