PSA: annual pap smears

[ovrclokd]

if you're female, and you haven't had a pap smear in the past year - please go get one. if you're male, and you love someone who's female, ask her when she last had one...

i never, ever again want to hear a friend tell me they have stage 4 cervical cancer.

she has HPV. which, apparently, 70% of everybody else has, too. which, apparently, doesn

Comments

[thad_delaplane]

You should be getting an annual physical/checkup. Some insurance companies consider an annual visit to your GYN AS your annual physical. However, I would recommend you go to your internist/family practitioner/witch doctor for a once over anyway. They'll listen to your heart and lungs, take blood and check your cholesterol (among other things), palpitate here and there and (most importantly) TALK TO YOU ABOUT YOU! It's an opportunity to discuss lifestyle, concerns, stress (yes, mental health is a part of this process), and take a checkpoint on any chronic issues you may have.

If you don't have a regular doctor, I highly recommend it. I've been seeing the same one for over 15 years now and she also takes care of K, C, J and now L. Because we all go to her, she has an excellent perspective on both the health AND welfare of all the members of our family. That meant my annual checkup included questions about quantity of sleep (because of a new baby) and stress (life with 3 kids). And because she's so involved with our family, she's INVOLVED with our family. L was having a problem (nothing serious and getting better), but the doctor CALLED US just to check up on him. She said she was having trouble sleeping because she was worrying about him.

Next year, my $COMPANY is reducing our medical insurance options to exactly one (1). That options only covers every-other-year checkups. So I'm going to be paying for it out-of-pocket. Yes, it's that important.

[lintqueen]

*Totally* agree. I <3 my GP...have been seeing her for more than a decade now (and two other friends now see her due to referrals). She's amazing and really listens to me...what's going on in life, how everything interacts, etc. She's also quite close to you -- on Fayetteville just the other side of 54. Dr. Sabrina Mentock. 544-6461 (didn't even have to look up phone #)!

[darkfyre_muse]

As a note on convenience, alot of GPs, mine included, will due both your annual physical and GYN work at the same time. I like this because its convenient and I don't have to interpret one doc to another and put up with physician ego bashing.

[ovrclokd]

hrm. i generally only see my doctor when disgusting green stuff takes over the holes in my head... and we usually do 5 minutes on diet, exercise, lifestyle while he's mucking out my sinuses. being generally healthy, that seems adequate to me - altho if we had kids, it'd be a whole different ballgame.

[jklgoduke]

Well, my ob/gyn does bloodwork at least every other year, and kinda checks me out overall, and I talk to him about more than just my private bits (in fact, he's the one that signed me up for the x-ray that ended up finding my first lung collapse). That said, I'd like to have a GP I really connected with. I may have to see if the one lintqueen recommends below is on our plan.