Preventive care encompasses all the screenings, tests, treatments, and education you need to achieve and maintain good health and avoid any serious health complications. It’s an important part of your annual well woman exam, and you should plan to keep your appointment to stay healthy and fit.
Our team of experienced physicians at Women’s Health Specialists, PLLC in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, offers preventive care services to our patients. If you’re thinking about coming in for an exam, here’s why the fall is the perfect time to do it.
A well woman exam is a medical appointment you make each year to determine the state of your overall and reproductive health, even when you don’t suspect there’s anything wrong. The doctor performs several tests.
This is a manual exam of your breasts, and the doctor performs it even if you’re doing self-exams, because you may have missed something. If you’re at an average risk for breast cancer, we generally recommend such an exam every 1-3 years from age 25 to 39. After that, you should get them yearly.
The doctor will give you a referral for a mammogram. This test serves as both a screening and a diagnostic tool. It can detect lumps in asymptomatic women that are too small to feel with a manual exam, and it can diagnose the nature of lumps that are found and explain symptoms.
For women with an average risk for breast cancer, we recommend a mammogram every 1-2 years starting at age 40.
A pelvic exam is a hands-on check of your reproductive organs for any abnormalities. The doctor usually performs a Pap smear to test for abnormal and potentially cancerous cells in the cervix, and they may or may not also test for human papillomavirus (HPV) at the same time.
Pap smears are performed every 1-3 years based on age and risk for cervical cancer.
The doctor may perform additional tests or screenings, such as those for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) if you’re sexually active.
Honestly, any time of the year is OK for scheduling your exam, as long as you keep the appointment. However, fall provides some benefits that the other seasons don’t.
If you’re the mother of school-age children, it may be hard to make an appointment when the kids are out of school on summer or winter break. During the fall, they’re back in school, giving you some additional time to work it into your schedule.
Fall also has fairly good weather, so you won’t have to worry about digging your car out from the latest snowstorm or braving triple-digit temperatures just to get to the doctor’s office.
It’s also not-quite holiday time, so while you may be busy at work or with school activities, you won’t be overwhelmed by the million things you need to do to get ready for holiday guests.
If you haven’t come in for your annual well woman’s visit this year, call Women’s Health Specialists, PLLC at 615-907-2040 to schedule, or book your appointment online with us today.
