The other day I was talking with a really good friend of mine and, to my surprise, she informed me that it has been over five years since she has had an appointment with her Ob/Gyn. After I picked myself up off the floor, I began to lovingly “slap” her around a bit. Now I am not dealing with a teenager or a kid from the inner city or no man’s land. This is a well-educated, well-informed, savvy adult. Sadly enough, my friend is a typical example of our society today. Too many of us don’t take the time or make the time to get ourselves checked out. We schedule our kid’s exams, but in our busy schedule, we forget, neglect or are just too chicken to make that appointment for ourselves.

Unfortunately, burying our heads in the sand on this one could mean life or death. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I hope to scare someone into a little bit of reality.

Anyone listening?

I am a breast cancer survivor and had I not found the lump and gotten checked out, I would not be writing this story, enjoying my kids and my husband, job, church, etc. From personal experience I know the importance of regular exams and going to the doctor. Take it from one who has been there and done that. Ladies – do a self-check breast exam once a month. Everyone needs to do what the doctor ordered and schedule those once a year exams for yourself, your kids, your spouses and significant others as well as KEEP the appointments.

Below are some guidelines and recommendations to help you beome watchfull of your health:

The official recommendation is that most men, starting at age 50, should have an annual prostate exam -- a digital rectal exam that takes just a few seconds. That should be done in combination with the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) blood test.

If the man is in a high-risk category -- if he’s African-American or has a family history of prostate cancer, then those tests should probably begin starting at age 40 and continue on an annual basis.

African-American men have higher rates of both prostate cancer and deaths caused by prostate cancer. If your father, brother, or son has had prostate cancer, you have a higher-than-average chance of getting the disease.

Many women go to the doctor only in the case of an emergency or when something is really bothering them. If this sounds familiar to you, it’s time to change. Annual visits to the gynecologist are essential to a woman’s good health. They are the ultimate preventative step a woman can take when facing the risks of breast and cervical cancer, STDs, and heart disease. Checking for something on a yearly basis greatly increases the chances of finding any problem in its early and often treatable stage. Annual visits are also a good idea because they give us a scheduled moment in which we can voice our health concerns, check our stats and gage the impact of any lifestyle changes we might have made in the last year.

“A screening test tries to find a disease before there are any symptoms. With breast cancer, there’s a misconception that if you feel fine, don’t have a lump, and have no family history of breast cancer, you’re okay. The truth is that three-quarters of the women in whom we find breast cancer have no risk factors. So screening is important for everyone,” Susan Orel, M.D.

Examining your breasts is an important way to find breast cancer early, when it’s most likely to be cured. Not every cancer can be found this way, but it is a critical step you can and should take for yourself. No woman wants to do a breast self-exam (or “BSE”), and for many the experience is frustrating—you may feel things but not know what they mean. However, the more you examine your breasts, the more you will learn about them and the easier it will become for you to tell if something unusual has occurred. BSE is an essential part of taking care of yourself and reducing your risk of breast cancer.

Fear is our worst enemy. Ask the doctor questions and concerns you may have when you go for your appointment. Eliminate the uncertainty, eliminate the fear, and you’ll have a much better chance of living a long, healthy life.

CHECK IT OUT!