A healthy body and mind can require different care at each stage of your life. At Cheshire Medical Center, we empower you to cultivate your own good health through frequent wellness checks. Whether you need proactive health and wellness strategies, a screening, or a personalized plan of care for a more complex diagnosis, our team of experts is here to support your health with compassion and kindness.
Here’s what you should know at each stage of your journey
First decade
From pelvic pain to differences in sex development, many children face health issues addressed through pediatric gynecology and urology. Your medical team’s ability to collaborate with specialists here at Cheshire and the Dartmouth Health Children's allows us to provide our youngest generation with a seamless continuum of care when they need it.
Teens
Times are changing, and so is your body. You should have your first gynecologic visit either when you first get your period or by the time you are 15. The first visit may be just a talk between you, your parents, and your doctor. Your doctor will also give you the opportunity to speak to her without your parent if you would like more privacy. We are here to help YOU be the healthiest person you can be.
Talk to your doctor about:
- Acne
- Alcohol, drugs, and smoking
- Birth control
- Cramps, irregularities, or problems with menstrual periods
- Emotional ups and downs
- Gender identity
- Pelvic pain
- Sex and sexuality
- Sexually transmitted infection (STI)
- Your weight
Recommended tests and immunizations:
- Chlamydia testing once sexually active
- Immunization to prevent cervical cancer
- Immunization to prevent genital warts (HPV) and cervical cancer starting between ages 9 and 14
- Meningococcal vaccine (if you’re in college or the military)
- COVID-19 vaccination or booster
Age 20 to 34
From college and career to relationships and family planning, you are facing some major life decisions. Whether or not you plan to become a parent, your care team can help you establish good health habits that will benefit you for your lifetime.
Talk to your doctor about:
- Birth control
- Cramps, irregularities, or problems with menstrual periods
- Family planning and fertility
- How to practice breast self-awareness at home
- Pelvic pain or pain during sex
- Preventing bone loss
- Sexual health and sexuality
- Sexually transmitted infection
Recommended tests and immunizations:
- Blood pressure screening: every two years
- Breast self-exam: monthly
- Cervical cancer screening: Pap test every three to five years depending on risks
- Clinical breast exam: every three years
- COVID-19 vaccination or booster
- HIV testing: At least once, maybe annually depending on your risks
- HPV vaccine: if you’re under 45 and haven’t received it yet
- Pelvic and breast exam: every year
- STI screening: every year if you’re under 25, or as needed
- Tdap vaccine booster: every 10 years
- Varicella vaccine: two doses if born after 1980 or if you've never had chickenpox
Age 35 to 44
Making time to take care of your health along with your career, relationship, and family is a smart investment in your future. Prioritizing sleep, stress-reduction, healthy eating, and exercise will help prevent disease in older years and combat the loss of bone density and muscle tone that starts to occur in mid-life.
Talk to your doctor about:
- Emotional ups and downs
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Pelvic pain
- Perimenopause
- Preventing bone loss
- Self-care
- Sexual health and sexuality
Recommended tests and immunizations:
- Blood pressure screening: every two years
- Breast self-exam: monthly
- Cervical cancer screening: Pap test every three to five years depending on risks
- COVID-19 vaccination or booster
- Cholesterol blood panel: every five years; annually if yours is high
- Diabetes screening (A1c test): at 35, or at the doctor’s suggestion
- HPV vaccine: if you’re under 45 and haven’t received it yet
- Mammogram: in your early 40s
- Pelvic and breast exams: every year
- Tdap vaccine booster: every 10 years
- Thyroid function: test once at 35, then ask your doctor
- STI and HIV screenings: as needed
Age 45 to 54
You may find yourself responsible for the needs of the older and younger generations at the same time while struggling to prioritize your own health. Meanwhile, your body is going through hormonal changes that interrupt your sleep with hot flashes, cause extra weight gain, and may put you at higher risk for chronic disease without careful monitoring.
Talk to your doctor about:
- Memory loss and possible symptoms
- Menopause
- Osteoporosis and whether you need a bone-density exam
- Pelvic floor disorders and incontinence
- Pregnancy history–share this to monitor for future medical conditions
- Self-care
- Sexual health and vaginal dryness
- Your individual risk for colon and breast cancers
Recommended tests and immunizations:
- Blood pressure screening: every two years
- Breast self-exam: monthly
- Cervical cancer screening: Pap test every three to five years
- COVID-19 vaccination or booster
- Cholesterol blood panel: every two years, starting at 45
- Colonoscopy: initial screening at 45; discuss follow-ups with your doctor
- Hepatitis C screening: one test, follow-ups if necessary
- Influenza vaccination: every year
- Pelvic and breast exams: every year
- Mammogram: every year depending on your risk
- STI and HIV screening: as needed
- Tdap vaccine booster: every 10 years
Age 55 to 64
You have accomplished much and gained wisdom on your journey. Now is the time to pay very close attention to building your bone strength, protecting your heart health, and being vigilant about possible memory loss.
Talk to your doctor about:
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death of women in this age range
- Osteoporosis: One in two women suffer osteoporosis-caused bone breaks
- Pelvic floor disorders like incontinence and prolapse
- Postmenopause
- Weight gain after menopause
- Your individual risk for colon, breast, and other cancers
Recommended tests and immunizations:
- Blood glucose screening: every three years
- Blood pressure screening: every two years
- Breast self-exam: monthly
- Cholesterol blood panel: every five years
- Colon cancer screening
- COVID-19 vaccination or booster
- Depression screening
- Discuss with your doctor your schedule for:
- Mammograms
- Cervical cancer screening
- Hepatitis C screening: one test, follow-ups if necessary
- Influenza vaccination: every year
- Pelvic and breast exams: every year
- Shingles vaccine: once at age 60
Age 65 and beyond
You may be working, looking after grandkids, going back to school, picking up new hobbies, and traveling the world. More than ever, you need to watch out for serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and memory deficits. That means following medical advice, living a healthy lifestyle, and taking good care of yourself.
Talk to your doctor about:
- Chronic or new symptoms you’re experiencing
- Fall prevention
- Heart disease and common heart attack symptoms in women
- Medications you're taking and if they’re causing side effects
- Pelvic floor disorders like incontinence and prolapse
- Prediabetes
- Preventing and reversing osteoporosis
- Your individual risk for colon, breast, and other cancers
Recommended tests and immunizations:
- COVID-19 vaccination or booster
- Pneumonia vaccine: one dose of PCV13 (Prevnar) at 65, one dose of PPSV23 (Pneumovax) a year later
- While some routine tests can be stopped after age 75, your physician may advise continuing these:
- Bone-density screening: every two to three years
- Blood-pressure screening: every two years
- Cholesterol blood panel: every three to five years
- Influenza vaccination: every year
- Mammograms
- STI and HIV screening: if you’re sexually active
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