A yearly health review and assessment can prove beneficial for a number of reasons:

• Maintaining good health
• Early disease detection and prevention, such as:
• Mammography changes
• Cervical cancer detection

I try to make the annual an opportunity to make a physical, mental, and spiritual time-out to sense if the direction you are going is where you want to continue.  It provides a forum to discuss hereditary risks and other health concerns.

What an annual evaluation includes:

• A detailed history with a review of present symptoms
• A review of lifestyle and relationship status
• Physical examination of:
• Skin
• Blood pressure
• Height/Weight
• Thyroid
• Heart
• Lungs
• Breast
• Abdomen
• Pelvis

Testing of the blood, urine, stool, pap smear and screening for sexually transmitted diseases are considered and individualized according to patient needs and risks.  Mammograms, bone density testing, colon screening and other testing are also individualized according to family history and age factors.

As the seasons of our lives change, health education and attitude cannot always make the journey easy but it can help preserve our peace and sense of well-being.

5/4/06