This is what women should be screened on a regular basis

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, many are worried about going to general practitioners and other healthcare facilities and believe that these locations are at high risk of infection. Many of us also had to balance work, childcare and home education.

Therefore, the number of women participating in preventive health examinations is not surprising. Surprisingly fell..For example, 145,000 less breasts cancer Screening took place between January and June of this year, rather than around the same time in 2018. However, it is important that the pandemic does not lead to avoidable deterioration of health.

Below are some of the key health examinations for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Recommended for women.. These checks are recommended for women at average risk, but women with a strong family history of any of these conditions should start screening early or seek different types of tests. You need to ask your family doctor.

Cervical cancer screening

The national cervical screening program Cervical cancer screening Every 5 years for women aged 25-74.

December 2017, New test Introduced for Cervical cancer Screening and test intervals in Australia have been changed from 2 years to 5 years. It was recommended to change the test interval New test You can detect changes early. This means that fewer women will be tested each month and the decline will begin in December 2019.

Even with this in mind, the number of women tested in April and May 2020 dropped sharply. Interest rates in Victoria remain low, but some recovery was seen in June. In the past, it was common to have a pelvic examination at the same time as a cervical screening test to look for problems with the uterus and ovaries, but this is no longer recommended. Low accuracy..

Breast cancer screening

Breast Screen Australia recommends x-rays of the breast, called mammograms, every two years for women aged 50 to 74 years. Breast screening services were suspended in April but resumed in all states, including Victoria.

Evidence of the benefits and harms of breast screening is highly contested, so it is important for women to make informed choices. Cancer Australia states that for every 1,000 women screened for 25 years from the age of 50, about 8 avoid death. breast cancer.. On the other hand, eight out of every 1,000 women diagnosed by screening are treated for cancer unnecessarily (usually by surgery). Never been diagnosed otherwise..

Screening works by finding cancer before symptoms appear in women, but it also finds cancer that grows very slowly or regresses. Never caused any symptoms.. With more sensitive tests such as MRI Many of these “overdiagnosed cancers” Than other tests.

Breast cancer survival has improved significantly over the last few decades, most of which Improvement of treatment Not an improvement in screening.

Ovarian cancer

Unfortunately, there is no way to detect ovarian cancer early, the symptoms can be ambiguous, and the diagnosis is often delayed.

The· Most common symptoms Abdominal distension, abdominal or pelvic pain, loss of appetite, immediate satiety, dyspepsia, pollakiuria or urgency, constipation, unexplained weight loss or gain, and unexplained malaise.

Women who have any of these symptoms for more than a few weeks should see their doctor.

Sexually transmitted diseases

About 1 in 20 women in their 20s get chlamydia and 1 in 200 get gonorrhea. These increase the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. HIV, hepatitis B, and syphilis are less common, but early detection is important.

Although there is no formal screening program, RACGP encourages sexually active women under the age of 30 to undergo regular screening, especially if their sexual partners change.

Cardiovascular disease and diabetes

The· Major cause Deaths from women in Australia are dementia, heart attack, stroke and lung cancer. These risks can be reduced by preventative health.

RACGP is for women to check their blood pressure every two years from the age of 18, check their cholesterol every five years from the age of 45, and check for diabetes and kidney disease if they are at risk (such as if they have a family history). Is recommended. The GP recommends a general health check for 45-49 years, a heart health check for 45 years and older, or a health check for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders over 30 years.

Treating high blood pressure and cholesterol and lowering smoking rates have helped significantly reduce deaths from heart disease in Australia since its peak in the 1960s. However, Female It is unlikely to check all risk factors for heart disease, Young women are unlikely Wear blood pressure Or a cholesterol-lowering drug than men with the same risk level.

Intestinal cancer

Enteric cancer screening is recommended by the National Enteric Cancer Screening Program for all Australians every two years between the ages of 50 and 75. This is done by a stool sample test using a kit that is mailed from the National Enteric Cancer Screening Program and returned by mail.this Sieving Reduce death 16% from intestinal cancer.

The GP has worked hard to ensure patient safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is also important that the recommended preventive health examination is not unnecessarily delayed.

This article will be republished from conversation Under a Creative Commons license.Read Original work..