Must-Schedule Appointments for Women

Rebecca Schwarz for divine.caUpdated: Mar. 20, 2019

It’s important to be proactive when it comes to your health, but it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of all the health exams and screenings a woman needs. Enter the medical appointment guide. Just select your age group to find out what appointments to book and when.

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In Your Twenties

Every six months

Dental check-up: your dentist will examine your mouth in order to detect cavities in your teeth, and any problems with your gums, or tongue.

Yearly

Clinical breast exam: your doctor will look for colour changes, skin irregularities and changes in your nipples. She will also feel your breasts and armpits for lumps and enlarged lymph nodes in order to detect suspicious changes, and to exclude breast cancer.

Pap test: the cells from your cervix and the canal that enters your uterus are examined under microscope in order to detect cancer and precancerous changes of your cervix.

STIs: blood and urine tests for sexually-transmitted infections, including HIV.

Weight: your doctor should measure your height and weight to assess your BMI (Body Mass Index) in order to determine whether you’re overweight or underweight, and whether your weight is endangering your health.

Skin test: your doctor will examine moles, looking for those that areirregularly shaped, have varied colours, are asymmetric, are greater than the size of a pencil eraser, or have grown or changed since your last visit in order to detect skin cancer.

Diabetes: if your family has a history of diabetes, you will need a blood sugar test to measure the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood after an eight-hour fast. If you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you should be checked, too. If you are pregnant, you will need to be tested for gestational diabetes.

Eye health: an ophthalmologist or optometrist will check your eye movement, peripheral vision, colour vision and the sharpness (acuity) of your eyesight, among other tests.

Every two years

Blood pressure: this test is required for early detection of high blood pressure (hypertension) which, if untreated, can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.

Every five years

Blood cholesterol test: this measures total cholesterol. Young women often neglect to get it checked, but high levels of cholesterol can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. Your doctor may recommend that you get tested more often if you are at risk for high cholesterol.

Every ten years

Hearing test: this will determine if you have experienced any hearing loss, and if so, the kind and degree.

Rebecca Schwarz for divine.ca

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2 / 5

In Your Thirties

Every six months

Dental check-up: your dentist will examine your mouth in order to detect cavities in your teeth, and any problems with your gums, or tongue.

Yearly

Clinical breast exam: your doctor will look for colour changes, skin irregularities and changes in your nipples. She will also feel your breasts and armpits for lumps and enlarged lymph nodes in order to detect suspicious changes, and to exclude breast cancer.

Pap test: the cells from your cervix and the canal that enters your uterus are examined under microscope in order to detect cancer and precancerous changes of your cervix.

Weight: your doctor should measure your height and weight to assess your BMI (Body Mass Index) in order to determine whether you’re overweight or underweight, and whether your weight is endangering your health.

Skin test: your doctor will examine moles, looking for those that areirregularly shaped, have varied colours, are asymmetric, are greater than the size of a pencil eraser, or have grown or changed since your last visit in order to detect skin cancer.

Diabetes: if your family has a history of diabetes, you will need a blood sugar test to measure the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood after an eight-hour fast. If you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you should be checked, too. If you are pregnant, you will need to be tested for gestational diabetes.

Eye health: an ophthalmologist or optometrist will check your eye movement, peripheral vision, colour vision and the sharpness (acuity) of your eyesight, among other tests.

Every two years

Blood pressure: this test is required for early detection of high blood pressure (hypertension) which if untreated can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.

Every five years

Blood cholesterol test: this measures total cholesterol. Young women often neglect to get it checked, but high levels of cholesterol can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. Your doctor may recommend that you get tested more often if you are at risk for high cholesterol.

Every ten years

Hearing test: this will determine if you have experienced any hearing loss, and if so, the kind and degree.

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In Your Forties

Every six months

Dental check-up: your dentist will examine your mouth in order to detect cavities in your teeth, and any problems with your gums, or tongue.

Yearly

Clinical breast exam: your doctor will look for colour changes, skin irregularities and changes in your nipples. She will also feel your breasts and armpits for lumps and enlarged lymph nodes in order to detect suspicious changes, and to exclude breast cancer.

Pap test: the cells from your cervix and the canal that enters your uterus are examined under microscope in order to detect cancer and precancerous changes of your cervix.

Weight: your doctor should measure your height and weight to assess your BMI (Body Mass Index) in order to determine whether you’re overweight or underweight, and whether your weight is endangering your health.

Skin test: your doctor will examine moles, looking for those that areirregularly shaped, have varied colours, are asymmetric, are greater than the size of a pencil eraser, or have grown or changed since your last visit in order to detect skin cancer.

Diabetes: if your family has a history of diabetes, you will need a blood sugar test to measure the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood after an eight-hour fast. If you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you should be checked, too. If you are pregnant, you will need to be tested for gestational diabetes.

Eye health: an ophthalmologist or optometrist will check your eye movement, peripheral vision, colour vision and the sharpness (acuity) of your eyesight, among other tests.

Blood pressure: this test is required for early detection of high blood pressure (hypertension) which if untreated can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.

Mammogram: this is an X-ray of your breast tissue in order to detect breast lumps or suspicious changes or calcifications when they’re too small to be detected by physical examination. These small lumps can be the first finding of early-stage breast cancer.

Every five years

Blood cholesterol test: this measures total cholesterol. High levels of cholesterols can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. Your doctor may recommend that you get tested more often if you are at risk for high cholesterol.

Every ten years

Hearing test: this will determine if you have experienced any hearing loss, and if so, the kind and degree.

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In Your Fifties

Every six months

Dental check-up: your dentist will examine your mouth in order to detect cavities in your teeth, and any problems with your gums, or tongue.

Yearly

Clinical breast exam: your doctor will look for colour changes, skin irregularities and changes in your nipples. She will also feel your breasts and armpits for lumps and enlarged lymph nodes in order to detect suspicious changes, and to exclude breast cancer.

Pap test: the cells from your cervix and the canal that enters your uterus are examined under microscope in order to detect cancer and precancerous changes of your cervix.

Weight: your doctor should measure your height and weight to assess your BMI (Body Mass Index) in order to determine whether you’re overweight or underweight, and whether your weight is endangering your health.

Skin test: your doctor will examine moles, looking for those that areirregularly shaped, have varied colours, are asymmetric, are greater than the size of a pencil eraser, or have grown or changed since your last visit in order to detect skin cancer.

Diabetes: if your family has a history of diabetes, you will need a blood sugar test to measure the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood after an eight-hour fast. If you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you should be checked, too.

Eye health: an ophthalmologist or optometrist will check your eye movement, peripheral vision, colour vision and the sharpness (acuity) of your eyesight, among other tests.

Blood pressure: this test is required for early detection of high blood pressure (hypertension) which if untreated can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and kidney disease.

Mammogram: this is an X-ray of your breast tissue in order to detect breast lumps or suspicious changes or calcifications when they’re too small to be detected by physical examination. These small lumps can be the first finding of early-stage breast cancer.

Every three years

Hearing test: this will determine if you have experienced any hearing loss, and if so, the kind and degree.

Every five years

Blood cholesterol test: This measures total cholesterol. High levels of cholesterols can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. Your doctor may recommend that you get tested more often if you are at risk for high cholesterol.

Consult your doctor

Colorectal cancer screening: the procedure consists of five exams, at different intervals. Screening intervals will depend on your medical history, among other factors. Consult your physician for more information.

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In Your Sixties