The Status of Women’s Health Is In Danger. Do NOT let any doctor tell you to skip important life saving gynecologic exams.
Stay Informed! This year the American College of Physicians made a choice against women’s health
stating that doctors can skip the annual pelvic exam for women who are not pregnant and have no unusual symptoms.
I DISAGREE STRONGLY. Many early symptoms of serious gynecologic problems are invisible and silent. If you want the most thorough and meticulous care (of course you do!) practice prevention and identify problems early.
Insist on a complete pelvic exam every year. This includes a pap smear and a manual exam in which your doctor examines you for the presence of cysts, tumors, masses and infections. Get a pap smear to screen for cervical cancer and a manual exam to screen for ovarian cancer and uterine cancer. as well as endometriosis, fibroids and signs of infection and hormonal changes. These exams save women’s lives and women’s fertility.
The problem with this decision is that many doctors, especially those in HMO health care plans will not even offer you a complete exam. This means that you must be an educated and informed patient and let your doctor know that you feel it is “medically negligent” (yes use those exact words) to fail to do a very thorough and complete gynecologic exam. Ask your doctor for a complete women’s health exam including a pelvic exam.
For example, ovarian cancer often feels like dull abdominal bloating. These symptoms of ovarian cancer can be mistaken for constipation by a lazy physician. Your doctor should give you a complete hands on pelvic exam and order an ultrasound at the very least. I have had SEVERAL ovarian cancer patients that complained to their doctors for 6-12 months before the doctor took them seriously and did a complete exam. By that time, the cancer had become very advanced, life threatening and difficult to treat. These women should have had a complete exam to rule out ovarian cancer the first time they reported these symptoms.
How To Recognize Cancer: The Healthy Woman Checklist Here is a check list with 16 signs of women’s cancers. (Be sure to read both Part One and Part Two) http://archive.integrativecanceranswers.com/how-to-recognize-cancer-healthy-woman-checklist-part-one/ If you notice any of them, ask your doctor to take them seriously and give you a complete exam to rule out the presence of serious disease.
