Each person has the responsibility to take good care of himself. For women, the responsibility is doubled because they are asked to carry a life inside their womb during pregnancy.  A well-balanced diet, regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle – all of the multi-dimensional aspects of health should be considered.  Every woman should be informed of ways to prevent diseases.  Being informed means being empowered to control their health.  Below are important screening tests that a woman should know in order for her to have complete control of her health, as well as prevent, diseases that are not just debilitating, but also fatal.

1. Pap Smear

   Papanicolau smear test, or cervical smear test, is a screening test used to check for malignant cells found around the neck of the uterus, or cervix.  The test is done by inserting a speculum into the vagina and then collecting cells around the cervix with the use of a swab, and it is then smeared on a glass slide to be analyzed in the laboratory.  Pap smear is used to detect cervical cancer.  Cervical cancers usually start in the lining of the cervix.  The two kinds of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. 80 percent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer have the squamous cell carcinoma, which is cancer of the squamous cell that covers the outer portion of the cervix. The rest are due to the gland that produces mucus in the endocervix.   By having regular Pap smear, cancer can be detected and treated early.

2. Breast Self-Examination

   Among the many deadly diseases a woman can get is breast cancer, which is considered the second killer cancer for women.  In America alone, according to cancer.org, there are 207,090 new cases of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer.  Almost 40 thousand women died of breast cancer in 2010 alone.  The fact that one is a woman is a risk in itself.  Therefore, it is recommended that women, by the age of 20, start to do breast self-examination (BSE).

   BSE is a simple routine using one’s hand to check for the presence of any lumps in the breasts, which may be benign or malignant.  Although there are more definitive screening tests for checking the lumps, regular BSE enables the woman to be familiar with how her breasts looks and feels at normal circumstances.  The self-examination, which comes in standard step-by-step approach must be done a week after menstruation when the breasts are not swollen. Any changes on how the breasts look and feel must be reported to the physician immediately for further evaluation.

3. Blood Sugar Testing

   Our body needs glucose to function. Glucose is converted to energy that enables the tissues to operate. Glucose is the simplest form of sugar or carbohydrates.  As carbohydrate is ingested, glucose level is increased unless it is used for energy with the help of insulin.  If not, the glucose level in the blood increases, which can cause damage in the smallest blood vessels of the eyes, kidneys and nerves.

   It is important that one’s blood sugar level is regularly tested so as to prevent the onset of diabetes. There are many ways to test the levels of blood sugar inside the body: fasting blood sugar (FBS); 2-hour post-prandial blood sugar; oral glucose tolerance test; and the casual or random blood sugar.

4. Blood Lipid Panel

   Increased blood cholesterol levels is said to cause a series of diseases, such as hypertension that will result to heart failure which may lead to a heart attack. A woman who has a genetic predisposition to hypercholesterolemia or high cholesterol levels should undergo lipid panel or lipid profile testing.  A blood lipid panel is the extraction of a small amount of blood, which is then tested for amounts of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides. The lipid panel will determine a person’s risk of getting heart diseases in the future.  Although studies have shown that women are being protected by their hormones in having heart attacks, it is best to be tested for blood lipid panel as a means of prevention.

5. Glaucoma Screening

   According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the second most common cause of blindness in the US is glaucoma.  Glaucoma happens when there is an increased fluid build-up in the eye which causes increase in intraocular pressure. The increasing intraocular pressure (IOP) will result to damage in the optic nerve causing blind spots which will eventually result to blindness.  Women who experience glaucoma have tunnel vision.  Glaucoma is irreversible. Once a person experience partial blindness due to the disease, it will never go back to its normal state.  It is therefore important to have one’s intraocular pressure checked regularly, especially for those women who have close relatives who have been diagnosed with glaucoma.  To test the intraocular pressure, tonometry is performed. A woman will also need to undergo visual field inspection to test for blind spots.  Visual acuity to measure distances of vision, and ophthalmoscopy to visually check the interior of the eye through the pupil are some of the tests considered to check for the possibility of glaucoma.

6. Screening for Hypertension

   The US Preventive Services Task force recommends that at 18 years of age, a person should be screened for blood pressure abnormalities.  With the destructive lifestyle these days, where diet consists of food that causes blood vessels to either clog or malfunction, or where sedentary habit is prevalent, there is high statistics of women who experience high blood pressure at a young age.

   Blood pressure is checked using a fabric cuff placed around the upper arm, and air is pumped into the cuff.  The examiner then listens to the pulse and the force of blood pushing through the walls of blood vessels as the cuff is deflated.  A high blood pressure is called hypertension.  Hypertension, if not controlled, will cause many diseases such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney problems. A lot of people feel normal in spite of a high blood pressure. It is therefore important to have blood pressure checked at least thrice per year for those who have normal results.

7. Screening for Skin Cancer

   Skin, which is made up of different layers, is man’s protection from the harmful effects of injury and infection, and from sunlight and heat.  The skin’s function also covers the regulation of body temperature and the storage of water, fat and Vitamin D. Of the different layers of the skin, the outermost portion is where skin cancer starts.  The cancers that start from these layers (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma) can be cured, but they have higher risks in progressing to other types of cancers.  However, melanoma, although least common, cause 75 percent of the deaths due to skin cancers.

   The screening tests available for skin cancer are generally for melanoma, or cancer that begins in melanocytes, the cells that produce the pigment melanin. The skin cancer test involves visual inspection of the skin by a medical professional, such as a dermatologist.  In most cases, when there is no complaint of abnormal growth of tissues on the skin after some routine examination, skin cancer cannot be detected.  For suspected abnormal growth on the skin, the doctors will usually advise to have a diagnostic test performed, such as a biopsy, to confirm how far it has spread below the skin surface or if it is cancer or not.

8. ELISA Test for HIV

   For women who are sexually active, as well as those who are exposed to blood and body fluids transfer, they should be tested for human immune deficiency virus (HIV), a precursor of auto-immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).  The most original among the HIV screening tests due to its sensitivity is ELISA, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.  This test is performed through blood extraction. The blood will then go through a series of tests to check for chemical reactions that will determine if the blood is positive for the virus or not. If it is positive for HIV, a confirmatory test called Western Blot test will be done.  With the growing percentage of people infected with HIV, it is best for those who are highly active sexually, and pregnant women, to have themselves tested using ELISA Test.

Sources
women.webmd.com
cancer.org
news-medical.net
ha.cancer.gov
ahrq.gov
labtestsonline.org
diabetes.webmd.com
nlm.nih.gov
cms.gov
ahaf.org
pacificlife.com
en.wikipedia.or