10 Things To Help Your Health                         

     
Wash your hands
Get outside
Move around (walking, gardening, exercise, etc.)
Wear your seat belt and shoulder strap
Snack on fruits & vegetables
Get enough sleep
LAUGH
Drink more water
Brush & floss teeth
Be safety conscious wherever you are
Visit your doctor for regular check-ups, keep up-to-date with immunizations, have baseline blood test, schedule screening test and x-rays,

Women are an underserved population in the health care system.    This program was inspired and designed by Dr. Joyce E. Scott for the female patient.  Hopefully, this open educational session will provide those that attend with pertinent information on healthcare services and types of preventative screening.  Women’s health is affected greatly by the use of early detection, preventative measures and good  personal habits.
The U.S. health-care system gets a “D” with an overall grade of 66 out of 100 and is doing poorly by virtually every measure.  Only 46% of U.S. adults receive the recommended preventative and screening for their age and sex.  The number of uninsured Americans grew by 1.3 million recently with       46.6 million in 2005. 
Tennessee also receives a “D” for healthcare.  TN ranks among the states with the highest death rates among females due to heart disease and stroke which are associated with high blood pressure, physical inactivity and smoking, three health risk factors that are prevalent among women in TN.

Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break  Screening can be performed by having a CT Bone Mineral Density.

CANCER SCREENING
·      Mammography (for breast cancer)
·      Pap test (for cervical cancer)
·      Fecal occult blood test (for colorectal cancer)
Colorectal endoscopy (sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy for colorectal cancer

BREAST
All major guidelines state that average-risk women should begin regular mamography screening beginning in their 40’s and that women should be counseled about the importance of recognizing new symptoms and reporting them to a health care provider.
MRI and ultrasound should be reserved for women at very high risk for breast cancer.
Breast Self Exam and Clinical Breast Exam
Regular use of screening mammograms, followed by timely treatment when breast cancer is diagnosed, can help reduce the chances of dying from breast cancer

CERVIX
Significant changes have been made to the cervical cancer screening guidelines within the past few years to incorporate medical advances such as liquid-based cytology and HPV testing.
Annual pap smear  then every 2 years until age of thirty unless abnormal Pap then every 1-2 years

Regular use of the Pap test followed by appropriate and timely treatment reduces deaths from cervical cancer.

COLON
Average age 50 years annual FOB
Every 5 years flexible Sigmoidoscopy
& FOB
Every 5 years Barium enema
Every 10 years Colonoscopy

LUNG
More people die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer. This is true for both males and females. In 2002 (the most recent year for which statistics are currently available), lung cancer accounted for more deaths than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer combined.36
Among the four most common cancers, the first-year costs for lung and colorectal cancer are higher because screening is not as commonly used in the detection of these cancers.

Ten Leading Causes of Death Among Females
Causes of Death          Number of Deaths
Diseases of heart                             356,014
Cerebrovascular disease                100,050
Lung and bronchus cancer                               67,509
Chronic lower respiratory disease    64,103
Alzheimer's disease                           41,877
Breast cancer                                     41,514
Diabetes mellitus                                                8,948
Accidents (unintentional injury)          37,485
Influenza and pneumonia                  36,763
Colorectal cancer                                               28,132