Erin Scales, M.D., Family Medicine Physician with Redstone Health Center in Park City has more on a new campaign to change that.
Women balance a lot on their plates. As a result, their own health often takes a back seat to other priorities.
Women in Utah have largely ignored preventive care as evidenced by rankings released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Utah ranks near the bottom of the country in several key areas of women’s preventive health, including cholesterol screening, routine checkups, pap smears, mammography, and occult blood screening.
University of Utah Health Care launched the “5 for Life” campaign to promote the five life-saving tests all women should have done. The campaign promotes screenings for heart disease, breast cancer, cervical cancer, skin cancer and colon cancer.
Heart Smarts
• Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America.
• Eighty percent of heart disease can be prevented.
• Tests include: Total Cholesterol (LDL, HDL, Triglycerides), Fasting Blood Sugar, and Blood Pressure
Benefit of Mammograms• Women aged 40 and older need to get mammograms every 1 to 2 years and over 50 need one annually. If there is history of breast cancer in her family, a woman should consult with her physician on when she should have her first mammogram.
• Tests include: Breast Exam and Mammogram.
Power of the Pap• Women need to have a Pap test starting after becoming sexually active, or by age 21, to detect cervical cancer.
• Gardasil, a recently released vaccine also know as the Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine, protects against cervical cancer, cervical dysplasia and genital warts. It has been approved for females ages 9 – 26 and has been 100% effective in preventing precancerous lesions.
• Tests include: Pap Test.
Skin Sense and Sensibility• Each year more than one million new people are diagnosed with skin cancer. Melanoma can run in families and people with two or more relatives with melanoma have an increased risk.
• Tests include: Comprehensive Skin Exam.
Colonoscopy• 150,000 people are told they have colorectal cancer each year and 55,000 die each year. Yet, when detected early, colorectal cancer can be effectively treated, even cured.
• Tests include: Colonoscopy scheduled at a later date.
On Saturday, June 26, University of Utah Health Care’s Redstone Center (1743 W. Redstone Center Drive, Park City) and Greenwood Health Center (7495 S. State Street, Midvale) will host a 5 for Life Days. These half-day events are designed to make it convenient for women to have multiple life-saving screenings done in just one visit. Health educators will be on hand to provide educational materials and to answer questions.
Participants will receive a healthy breakfast and chair massage.
For more information or to register for the event, call (801) 213-8803. Advance registration is required. Most insurance plans accepted. Call 435-658-9249 if you are in the Park City area.
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