Healthy Woman Check Ups, Do they make a difference - Essay Example

It is important for women to get regular check- ups, because screening tests, such as mammograms and Pap tests, can find diseases early, when they are easier to treat. Some women need certain screening tests earlier or more often than other women. Screening and routine care can help women lower their risk of many health conditions including heart diseases. National Women’s Check-up Day which occurs every 14th of May was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health to encourage women to visit health care professionals to receive or schedule check-ups and promote regular check-ups as they are vital to enable the early detection diseases.

With today's busy lifestyles, finding time to visit the doctor can often be difficult but it is important not to forget about our health. Regular health check-ups are important for women. Even in the absence of symptoms, many physicians recommend routine, yearly doctor visits and physicals for females of all ages. A full check-up for women includes a comprehensive work-up for general health, including heart diseases, cholesterol, diabetes, major organ functions, osteoporosis and common cancers like liver and colon cancer.

Specifically designed for women, the plan also screens for breast, ovarian and cervical cancers as well as pelvic disorders. Physicians integrate the information you provide from your symptoms, past health problems, physical examination and testing to detect disease or a risk of disease. If you feel well and have a normal exam, it's likely you are healthy. Unfortunately, many conditions can escape detection even with the best medical care. Which exams and screenings you need depends on your age, health and family history, and lifestyle choices such as what you eat, how active you are, and whether you smoke.

Breast cancer screening aims to detect the disease early in women and thereby reduce mortality from breast cancer. It may not be cost-effective to screen all women equally often, but rather to allocate resources disproportionately across women at different risks of developing breast cancer. This disease burden can be reduced if cases are detected and treated early. Pap smear for cervical cancer, allow the early identification of cancer or pre-cancer before signs are recognizable [PCND, 2008].

Screening for breast and cervical cancer are strongly related with a reduction in cancer mortality [Kerlikowske et al. 1995]. Evidence-Based screening plans and European guidelines recommend a mammography every 2 years for women aged 50-69 and Pap test every 3 years for women aged 25-64 [Perry et al. 2006, ACS, 2011]. Socioeconomic factors were shown to be strongly related to the use of preventive services [Lorant et al. 2002]. Disparities in the utilization of female screening were widely identified.

Comparative studies on the use of preventive services in Europe showed inequalities in the participation to screening programs, although the size of the inequality varied among countries [Palencia et al. 2010]. Women with lower health literacy are less likely to carry out routine cancer screening. Ethnic minority, old age and low socioeconomic status are all accompanied by a low chance of undergoing cancer screening procedures [Ackenson, 2007]. In the US characteristics associated with lower rates of Pap test use included low family income and low educational