Well some of the preventative tests that patients should have. First is mammography for women – usually starting around the age of 40, but depending if you have a family history of breast cancer. Say, for instance, sister or a mother has breast cancer, that you might need to start a little bit sooner, maybe at the age of 30, but something that I definitely would recommend that you talk with your physician about and giving that history to your physician to make an actual determination of when you should start. Pap smears for women. That starts at age 21 and usually occurs every two to five years, depending on your age group, because once you hit the age of 30, you likely will start having Pap smears less frequently, between three to five years and that typically goes about to the age of 65, but depending again on family history and on the actual patient history, will depend on if you need to go longer than age 65 or have more frequent screenings. Also, colon cancer is another preventative test that’s very big now. Typically starts around the age of 50. African Americans usually start around the age of 40 to 45. And, then also, if there is any family history, if you have a sister or brother or mom or dad who has history of colon cancer, then typically colon screening starts around 10 years prior to the diagnosis of that person. And then another preventative test is prostate cancer screening and that typically starts around the age of 50, but what I ask of all patients is that they talk with their physicians and determine do they want to have a prostate cancer screening. There is more research coming out about prostate cancer and its slow growth and so therefore if patients have other conditions, other co-morbidities, that may cause more problems than prostate cancer, then sometimes it’s not recommended, so definitely talk with your physician about whether or not you should be screened for prostate cancer and that typically occurs every two to four years, but most men still can have a digital rectal exam every year. And the other preventative test is DEXA scan, and that is for osteoporosis, for any bone fractures. Typically recommended in women around the age of 65 and occurs every two years; however, it can start earlier if you are postmenopausal and, for instance, if you’ve already had a prior fracture or you’re a smoker or you have any other chronic conditions, then sometimes you will need to start and have a DEXA scan earlier than the age of 65. And, I always recommend that adults have vision screenings every one to two years to make sure you don’t need corrective lenses or nothing else is going on with your eyes, such as cataracts or anything else. And then hearing exams, most adults know that either they’re repeating themselves a lot or they can’t exactly hear what someone is telling them, so if you see that happening, let your physician know so you can have a hearing exam in the office.
Other things that should be included should be cholesterol and high blood pressure and diabetes. What I recommend is that everyone, no matter what your ages, has an annual physical exam and that helps to go over your personal history, your family history and some of the things that are going on. Say, for instance, you’re more in the obese section, then you may need to have your cholesterol and screen for diabetes earlier in life, rather than later. Say, for instance, if you exercise, then you may not need to have your cholesterol checked as soon, but if you have family history, then you might need to, even if you think you are in good health.
