Taking better care of your car than your body?

Every woman has been told: ‘Get your mammograms, have a pap smear, etc.,’ but we all get busy and sometimes push those doctor's appointments to the bottom of our priority list. In part three of a special series on “Today,” medical contributor Dr. Judith Reichman talks about disease prevention and detection for a longer, better life as detailed in her new book, “Slow Down Your Clock: The Complete Guide to a Healthy, Younger You,” and she emphasizes the importance of not putting off those regular appointments and tests. Here’s her list of the medical tests that are a must for women:

The Health-Span List: Your Routine Medical Tests and When to Have Them

Let me say up front that this list is not as overwhelming as it seems.

• You need to visit your internist/family practitioner/primary care doctor, and probably your gynecologist once a year; many of these tests fit into your annual checkups.
• Most of the blood tests can be done at the same time.
• Eye exams can initially be performed by an optometrist; you might need to see an ophthalmologist if there are problems.
• The dermatologist is both your anticancer and cosmetic friend.
• Most radiology facilities can do mammograms and tests for bone mineral density in one appointment.
• You need to visit the gastroenterologist/proctologist once every five to ten years after age 50 (unless you have problems).

In sum, you’ll probably end up taking your car for servicing more often than your body; let’s keep our priorities straight. A small investment in early detection can save you years of healthy life.

The “Slow Your Clock” List:

Monthly
Breast self-exam (at home)

Annually
Pelvic exam
Clinical breast exam (by health care practitioner)
Skin self-exam (at home)

Age 21 to 30 (or if at high risk): Pap smear
After age 40: Mammogram; rectal exam
After age 50: Fecal occult blood test (if you “only” had sigmoidoscopy)
After age 60: Urinalysis

Every two years
Blood pressure (annually after age 50)
Skin exam by dermatologist

Every three years
After age 30: Pap smear (if at low risk, after three negative tests)
Fasting blood glucose test (two-hour postmeal, or fasting insulin if at risk for insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes)
Eye exam (annually after age 65)

Every 5 years
Fasting blood lipid levels (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides) and C-reactive protein

From 35: Thyroid test (TSH)
From age 40: Electrocardiogram (add echo stress test if at cardiac risk)
From age 50: Colorectal cancer screen: sigmoidoscopy (plus yearly stool check for occult blood) or preferably colonoscopy (every five to ten years, depending on risk)

Onetime tests (repeat if necessary)
At age 65: Bone mineral density (do earlier if at risk; do every two years if undergoing therapy)

As-needed tests
STD testing (sexually transmitted diseases): after new partner, before pregnancy, before a new sexual relationship

Immunizations
Every 10 years: Tetanus booster
Once at 65: Pneumococcal
Annually after 65: Influenza (or sooner at your doctor’s discretion)

Warning signs that should send you scurrying to the doctor:

From outside to inside:

• A mole that changes color, grows, or bleeds
• A breast lump, change in breast contour, or unusual breast pain; brown or bloody discharge from the nipple
• Vulvar or vaginal irritation or itching that does not go away, despite over-the-counter remedies
• Chest pain or any pain above the waist, especially if occurring during exertion or stress, accompanied by nausea and vomiting and shortness of breath
• Coughing that continues more than two weeks — earlier if it includes discolored or bloody sputum

Only on TODAY.MSNBc.com! Dr. Judith Reichman addresses your questions about women's health. LAST WEEK: Will removing my ovaries prevent cancer? GO TO ALL HEALTH TUESDAY COLUMNS

• Shortness of breath with minimal exertion or stress, or when at rest
• Any change in heartbeat pattern or rhythm
• Unexplained weight loss or weight gain; loss of appetite
• Unusual, prolonged, or heavy vaginal bleeding
• Delayed menstrual period before your midforties, especially if accompanied by pelvic pain
• New, unusual, or unremitting pain in any part of your body, from head to toe
• Change in bowel habits (unexplained constipation, diarrhea); rectal bleeding
• Frequent need to urinate together with unusual thirst
• Unexplained abdominal bloating
• Any infection (signs include fever, chills, coughing, sore throat, burning with urination, diarrhea) that does not resolve quickly
• Frequency of, urgency of, or pain with urination
• Uncontrollable loss of urine with coughing, sneezing, change in position, exercise
• Inability to prevent urination after urge to void
• Unexplained fatigue or malaise (just not feeling well); dizziness; fainting
• Severe, unusual headaches that don’t respond to over-the-counter pain medications
• Difficulty thinking or remembering, even if transitory
• Numbness, even if transitory, in any part of the body
• Mood changes that last more than a couple of weeks

Excerpted from “Slow Your Clock Down” by Judith Reichman. Copyright© 2004 by Judith Reichman. Excerpted by permission of William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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