College Voices
Top Three Health Issues Affecting Women Today
Though there are health issues that affect men and women, there are some that solely affect women or affect women in a different way. It is important to be aware of certain health risks a woman could face in her lifetime. By being informed, a woman could take the necessary steps to prevent or learn how to live and treat the issue with proper care.
With today’s technology, preventative testings, and the advancement in medicine, women are able to overcome and treat these issues more effectively than ever before. Whether or not you’re a woman, it’s important to educate yourself on these risks because it could affect a woman in your life.
Breast Cancer
In the United States, women have “about a 12 percent lifetime risk of getting breast cancer.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the United States. About 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer within their lifetime. Once a woman reaches the age of 20, she should start getting clinical breast exams every one to three years.
It becomes more frequent with clinical tests every year, starting at 40. However, regardless of age, if a woman has a family history of breast cancer, she’s recommended to test more often. If a woman ever discovers a lump in her breast, she should not hesitate to reach out to a doctor.
Breast cancer can be overcome, but it depends on the stage of cancer. The earlier its discovered, the faster the treatment can be set into motion.
Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer accounts for 2.5 percent of cancer in women. Approximately 1 in 79 women will develop invasive ovarian cancer. However, a woman’s lifetime risk of dying from ovarian cancer is 1 in 109.
When it comes to ovarian cancer, it’s crucial to identify it early when its still concentrated in an ovary or ovaries. Women who caught it before it spread, throughout the pelvis and abdomen, have more successful treatments. Ovarian cancer spreads fast and is very difficult to treat and stubborn once it progresses to further phases.
In the early stages, a pelvic exam can be performed to detect early stages of cancer. However, most ovarian tumors are hard to detect. If a woman’s family history contains ovarian cancer, there are preventative testing to test her likelihood of suffering from cancer in her life.
Endometriosis
In the United States, “10 percent and 20 percent of American women of childbearing age have endometriosis.” Endometriosis is when tissue that normally grow in the uterus grows outside of it. The condition’s name comes from the word “endometrium” which is the tissue that lines the uterus.
With this condition, there is often lower abdominal pain, painful menstruations and sexual intercourse, and some experience infertility. However, some women with the condition suffer from no symptoms. Women with considerable scarring and damage done by the tissue have reported difficulty getting pregnant.
A woman could be diagnosed with endometriosis after a pelvic examination and laparoscopy. There is no cure, but hormonal contraceptives have helped to break down the outside tissue being produced by the condition.