PA offers advice for Women's Health Month

As September is women's health awareness and gynecological cancer awareness month, Cari Stenz, PA-C, at the Women's Health Center of Alpena addressed issues and preventative care women can use to stay healthy.

Stenz emphasized that one of the biggest things women can do for preventive care is to take care of their bodies. She said since self image plays such a large roll in our culture, women need to know that being skinny does not equate to being healthy.

"Being active and eating healthy is an indication of how healthy you are," she said, adding that by taking care of the body, women will look and feel better.

She said women don't have to belong to a gym to exercise and cited house cleaning and walking as examples. Stenz said women should start monitoring their health from a young age and recommends getting blood pressure checked at 18 years of age.

Stenz recommends that women ages 9 through 26 get the HPV shot called Gardasil, even if they're not sexually active. The shot is administered in three doses and covers the most high risk form of HPV that can lead to cervical cancer.

"The shot has been out for quite a while now and there aren't any significant, adverse effects to the shot," she said.

In addition to the human papillomavirus vaccination, at home breast examinations should become a monthly routine for women. Stenz said she doesn't expect women to necessarily feel a lump, but that the purpose of the exam is to know the breast tissue and if anything changes they can go to the doctor and say "I don't know what's different, but something is not right."

Women should generally start getting mammograms to screen for breast cancer at age 40.

"Their primary care provider will know if they're high risk. If they have a first degree relative with breast cancer then their screening recommendations will change," Stenz said.

Statistics from the Alpena Regional Medical Center Tumor Registry show there were 64 cases of breast cancer in 2007. ARMC's cancer program annual report for 2007 said over 84 percent of the breast cancers are detected either through mammograms or self-breast exams.

When visiting the gynecologist's office, the doctor will test for pre-cancerous lesions in the cervix in a pap smear, most commonly caused by HPV. Stenz said there are certain types of HPV that are high risk and low risk for developing cervical cancer and the screening will allow doctors to identify and remove the lesions before they have a chance to spread anywhere else.

"Family history does play a huge roll in all of this and it's both genetic and environmental, like high cholesterol it can be genetic as well as the foods that you're eating and exercising in," she said.

She said colon cancer is one type of cancer that depends a lot on family history, and because the tests are so specific they are more successful at preventing colon cancer.

"Once people start getting screened at 50, they only have to have a colonoscopy once every 10 years if everything OK," she said, adding if there is a polyp it should be removed and a follow-up is needed once every five years.

She said if a patient has high blood pressure or diabetes they should get annual eye exams because both diseases can damage the blood vessels in the back of the eye.

"It's something a lot of people miss that I think is really important," Stenz said.