(HealthDayNews) -- The road to ongoing good health is marked by stops at your doctor's. For women, the American College of Gastroenterology recommends you start this regimen in your teens and follow this checklist as you age:
At age 18, start having:
- blood pressure tests every two years;
- a clinical breast exam every year;
- a pap test and pelvic exam every one to three years; and
- a breast self-exam monthly.
When you're between 35-39, add to the above tests a baseline mammography at least once.
From age 40 on, add a mammography every one to two years and a digital rectal exam and stool check for occult blood.
At age 50, add a yearly stool blood test, and a sigmoidoscopy every three to five years or a colonoscopy once every 10 years. If your doctor advises you're a higher-risk person, have the sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy more frequently.
Your doctor can advise you on how often you should be checked for diabetes, skin cancer and high cholesterol.
