Lack of time, fear of a negative diagnosis or shame of visiting the doctor’s office – no matter what stops us from doing preventive medical check-ups, it is worth overcoming fears to win health and even life.
The 8th day of March is not only a good excuse to celebrate, but also a great opportunity to think about how women themselves can successfully take care of their bodies, giving themselves the best possible gift.
It will be a great idea e.g. to prepare a personal calendar of preventive medical check-ups. Regular screening tests make it possible to ensure that the body is in good shape and nothing is wrong with it, or to detect a disease early enough to be able to completely cure it. You can ask your doctor to help you create such a “pro-health” schedule – the doctor will adjust the tests to your age and health.
What preventive medical check-ups should necessarily be included in such a calendar?
– Cervical cytology – it is a simple test that is carried out during a standard gynaecological visit. The doctor uses a special brush to take a small sample of cells from the cervix. The specimen obtained this way is sent to the laboratory. Cervical cytology takes only a few minutes and is a painless test, which can only cause slight discomfort in some women. The patient does not need to specially prepare for cervical cytology but before scheduling a medical consultation, a few things should keep in mind: the test cannot be performed during a menstrual period and it is best to perform it 4 days before the start of the period or 4 days after its ending. It is also important that women using vaginal preparations temporarily stop the treatment a few days before the test (during the visit, the gynaecologist may also perform a transvaginal ultrasound to detect ovarian cancer).
When performed regularly, cervical cytology makes it possible to detect cervical cancer in its early stage, quickly start the right treatment and save the patient’s life. Regular visits to a gynaecologist are all the more important as the disease can develop in secret for several years and not send any alarming signals in its early stage.
And when alarming symptoms appear, e.g. bleeding between menstrual periods, bleeding after sexual intercourse or a gynaecological examination, heavy vaginal discharge, pain in the lower abdomen, or longer and heavier than usual bleeding during menstrual period, you should consult your doctor as soon as possible.
In the meantime, in order to sign up for cervical cytology, it is enough to take part in a publicly available and free-of-charge screening programme addressed to all women aged 25-59. Each of the women covered by this prophylactic project should necessarily undergo an examination once every three years. If the result is normal, the next cervical cytology can be performed only after 36 months. Patients who have been diagnosed with human papilloma virus (HPV), those taking immunosuppressants and women with a family history of cervical cancer have the right to more frequent examinations.
Cervical cytology can be performed in any gynaecological office that has a contract with the National Health Fund (NFZ). The examination can also be performed by a midwife who is authorised to take
a cell sample. This type of medical service can be used as part of primary healthcare. A referral from
a GP is not needed to make an appointment with a gynaecologist or midwife.
– Mammography – it is a radiological examination that makes it possible to detect breast cancer in its early stage, giving a chance for a 100% cure. During the examination, the doctor or nurse places the breast on the lower plate of the diagnostic device, presses the gland with the second plate and performs an X-ray. In some women, this method of examination may cause slight discomfort but it is necessary to make sure that during mammography, the individual structures of the organ do not overlap and make it difficult to notice even the smallest irregularities in the structure of the tissue. An optimal time to perform mammography is during or just after a menstrual period because the breasts are sometimes physiologically swollen before a period, which can make the examination difficult and the diagnosis less precise.
Especially women over the age of 50 should have regular mammography. This form of diagnostics is very accurate and makes it possible to capture even the smallest changes that are imperceptible during self-examination. Importantly, the risk of breast cancer increases with age: about 80% of cases concern women who have entered their fifth decade of life (it is important that women in this age group do not give up mammography for the ultrasound examination, which is less effective in their case. The latter form of diagnostics is recommended to younger patients).
Therefore, every Polish woman who is over 50 and has not yet celebrated her 69th birthday should necessarily go for a free-of-charge mammography. It can be carried out once every 2 years and the list of facilities that perform this type of diagnostic test can be found on the website of the National Health Fund (the NFZ website includes also a timetable of mammography buses). You can also ask your GP for help and suggestions in this matter.
– Self-examination – a mandatory point in the calendar. All women, regardless of their age, should carefully observe their body and self-examine their breasts once a month. It is best to do this a few days after the end of a menstrual period. During this time, the breasts are soft, relaxed and there is no thickening characteristic for other phases of the cycle, which could make it difficult to detect changes. It is best to carry out self-examination in the bathroom: standing in front of the mirror, you can carefully look at each breast and pay attention to irregularities in their appearance. Check if the skin does not tighten, wrinkle, is not red, and if the shape of the glands has not changed. This observation must be repeated by lifting the arms up. The breast examination itself must be performed with circular hand movements, starting from the nipple and then moving outward towards the armpit area.
If you feel any change in the breast area, e.g. a hard, painless lump or thickening, or if you observe blood leakage from the nipple, you should urgently consult an oncologist surgeon. In the case of younger women, the recommended complementary diagnostic test that helps to determine the nature of breast changes is ultrasound.
It is worth being systematic and making breast self-examination a monthly, healthy ritual that will allow you to take care of your health and maybe save your life.
When planning a personal calendar of preventive medical check-ups, it is worth making some space for a few additional tests, such as: basic blood count and checking the level of thyroid hormones. Women who smoke cigarettes should get interested in the National Programme for Early Detection of Lung Cancer; and all women over 55 should also remember about colonoscopy in order to diagnose colorectal cancer.
Many dangerous diseases, including cancer, do not give any symptoms in their initial stages. Therefore, it is so important that all women regularly use publicly available, free-of-charge diagnostics to detect abnormalities at an early stage, stop the development of the disease and start treatment which, at this stage, is relatively simple and very effective. Regular control of the body is a form of medical prophylaxis, the aim of which is to care for health and the best possible quality of life. You should also be aware that even the most embarrassing and uncomfortable preventive medical check-up is much less burdensome, complicated and stressful than cancer treatment.
