Women’s Health

Years of Experience. Gentle Care. Patience. Our Approach to Women’s Health.

At Park Medical Centers, we believe women’s health is more than just periodic mammograms. Women’s bodies develop and change in many stages. We go through puberty, childbearing years, menopause, and many smaller stages along the way. It’s important for women to get regular medical checkups and screenings to stay healthy and spot signs of serious diseases and conditions early, when it is easiest to treat them effectively.

The key to staying healthy includes regular health checkups and screening tests. We recommend visiting our office at least once a year, even when you’re feeling well.  Visiting Park Medical Centers on a regular basis enables us to discover early so that you have the best chance of treating them successfully.

Obtaining the following checkups and screening tests depends on your age, health, and personal risk for certain conditions.

Physical / Well check

Physicals are visits with your Park Medical Centers health care professional to ensure that you are healthy and receiving necessary medications and treatments. You should visit Park Medical Centers for a general health check at least once a year. Most insurance plans have no copay for an annual checkup.

Mammogram

A mammogram is an X-ray of your breasts. It is used to find signs of breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death of women in the United States (lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women).

Some guidelines suggest you start getting mammograms when you turn 50, but we recommend you start getting a mammogram every year, or every other year, starting at age 40. Talk with your Park Medical Centers health care professional about your individual risk of breast cancer.

Pelvic Exam and Pap Smear

A pelvic exam is an examination of your female reproductive organs to check for infections, cancer, and other conditions. During a pelvic exam, we look at your external organs, including your labia and rectum, as well as your internal organs, including the inside of your vagina and your cervix (the opening to your uterus). A Pap Smear is a common screening done during a pelvic exam to help detect cervical cancer. This involves sweeping the surface of your cervix with a small brush to get a sample of cervical cells for testing.

We recommend the following timetable: a pelvic exam once a year starting at age 21; a Pap smear every three years between the ages of 21 and 29; between 30 and 65, a Pap Smear every three years, or every five years if your doctor combines the Pap Smear with a test for human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer.

STD Screening

Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) screening tests look for evidence of infections that you have contracted through sexual contact. STD tests often involve a small blood draw or a swab of your vaginal fluids.

Non-pregnant, sexually active women younger than 25 should be screened for chlamydia and gonorrhea. Younger women have an increased risk of these infections compared to older women. Non-pregnant, sexually active women who engage in high-risk sexual practices, such as multiple sexual partners, inconsistent condom use, and sexual activity while taking drugs or drinking alcohol, should be screened for chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, and syphilis. The most common practice is yearly screening of chlamydia in women younger than 25. For other STDs, how often you are tested is largely up to your Park Medical Centers health care professional and your individual circumstances and risk factors.

5. Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

A cholesterol test measures the level of cholesterol in your blood and can help indicate your risk of heart disease and stroke. Blood pressure monitoring is an important element in evaluating most diseases and conditions. It also helps to diagnose and evaluate treatment for high blood pressure (hypertension) and related conditions, such as preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension.

You should have a complete blood cholesterol test every five years starting at age 20. Plus, we recommend you check your blood pressure every two years if you have normal blood pressure (lower than 120/80).

It is essential that you take the time to visit Park Medical Centers for all your women’s health care needs.