To Your Health

Clean Bill of Health

We get busy. We procrastinate. But when it comes to regular health
screenings, don’t put them off.

By Kimberly Olson

o you know what your blood pressure is? Or when you’re due for your next mammogram?

When you’re feeling well and healthy, it’s easy to talk yourself into putting off health checkups. But resist the urge.

“As women, we bring home the bacon, cook it, and make sure everybody else is taken care of, and we often neglect ourselves in the process—it’s the Superwoman syndrome,” says Sharon Allison-Ottey, MD, executive director of the Coshar Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the nation’s health. “But just like we get our cars tuned up, we need to keep our health up. Because if we become unhealthy, not only will we suffer, but all of those who depend on us will suffer, too.”

Although every woman should make regular doctor visits a top priority, those with demanding careers—with long hours, stress, and travel—have increased risk factors for some health woes.

The good news? Your health is largely under your control. One of the most important things you can do is to get regular health screenings. After all, the earlier your doctor spots a medical condition, the easier it is to treat, and the better the outcome.

Following the government’s health screening recommendations (see next page) is a good start, but Dr. Allison-Ottey says that some women—particularly women of color—have increased risk of developing certain conditions and need to be especially vigilant.

“Whenever we talk about health disparities across racial and ethnic lines, everybody gets a picture in their head of someone who is poor and doesn’t have health insurance,” Dr. Allison-Ottey says. “But the Institute of Medicine issued a landmark report showing that even when you look at Caucasian, African American, and
Latino women who are at the same economic and education level, there are still differences in health outcomes. We can’t just blame the government or racism or sexism or the patient. We’ve all got a piece of the blame together. But to make sure that she is not a statistic, a woman must take ownership of her own health.”

African American and Latino women, for example, are at greater risk for high blood pressure. In addition to getting regular screenings, Dr. Allison-Ottey suggests they buy a blood pressure cuff and monitor themselves at home each month.

African American women are also at increased risk for diabetes: one in every four over age 55 will develop the disease. “I think these guidelines definitely need to be modified for African American women, who should get a diabetes screening every year,” Dr. Allison-Ottey says. “I suggest getting an annual diabetes test whether it’s covered by insurance or not. We all spend money getting our hair and nails done, and we’ll buy that cute little skirt. We need to put the same impetus into taking care of our health.”

Even health-savvy women think of osteoporosis as a condition that affects Caucasian and Asian women, and it is most prevalent among those groups. But there are factors that can bump up the risk of brittle bones for other women, such as taking steroids for lupus or other diseases.

Skin cancer is another condition that all women—not just those with lighter colored skin—need to take seriously. “While skin cancer is more prevalent in Caucasian women, it’s actually more deadly in African American and Latino women [due to late detection] because we’ve bought into the myth that darker skin is not at risk for skin cancer,” Dr. Allison-Ottey says. “That’s why it’s important for all women to get screenings and also examine their skin and moles for unusual changes every single month.” DW

Kimberly Olson is a senior contributing writer for Diversity Woman magazine.

Photos by iStockPhoto