by Petra Newman

Created on: July 09, 2010   Last Updated: July 25, 2010

Every woman should be proactive where their health is concerned. Early treatment of health issues is more successful if it is detected early. 

 Listed below are the recommended guidelines for health screening for women of all ages.

 1)      Breast self-exam:

Every woman, beginning at age 20 should do self breast exams once a month.   Unusual symptoms to look for are; change in breast tissue such as swelling, dimpling, nipple discharge, pain, redness, curious masses or other odd variations in how the breast looks.  If any of these symptoms are visible, you should seek a health care professional immediately.

 2)      Mammogram:

Every woman beginning at age forty should have a mammogram every two years.  Mammogram or mammography produces images inside the breast tissue.   It is basically a special x-ray specifically designed for mammograms using very low radiation that can identifies cysts, and tumors.

 4)      Pelvic exam, including a Pap smear test:

It is recommended to have a annual pelvic exam and pap smear beginning at age eighteen; however if you’re sexually active at an earlier age, you should have regular pelvic exams by a health professional as well.  The pelvic exam will require the health professional to examine the pelvic area externally and internally for any abnormalities.  The health professional will then perform a simple procedure called a Pap smear.  A Pap smear requires the health professional to insert and gently scrap the inside of your cervix with a cotton swab to extract cells.  The cells sent to a laboratory to be examined for cancerous or pre-cancerous changes. 

 5)      Colon Cancer examination:

This examination is recommended at age fifty then annually thereafter.   However if there is a family history of colon cancer or polyps, you should be screened earlier.  The health professional will require a simple test called a fecal occult blood, which checks for blood in your stool.  This annual checkup may determine any abnormalities that may be cancerous.  At Fifty years and older, your health professional might give you a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years.  A sigmoidoscopy is a procedure where a thin flexible lighted tube is used to examine the rectum and colon.  A colonoscopy that examines the entire colon may be

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