Medical Tests Every Woman Should Have

Colonoscopy

Why you need it: To detect colorectal cancer before symptoms occur. In Its early stage, this disease is more than 90 percent curable, says Bernard Levin, M.D., vice president for cancer prevention and professor of medicine at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston. When and how often: Doctors suggest you have your first colonoscopy at age 50. If a parent or sibling was diagnosed with colorectal cancer or

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Colonoscopy

Why you need it: To detect colorectal cancer before symptoms occur. In Its early stage, this disease is more than 90 percent curable, says Bernard Levin, M.D., vice president for cancer prevention and professor of medicine at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston. When and how often: Doctors suggest you have your first colonoscopy at age 50. If a parent or sibling was diagnosed with colorectal cancer or polyps before 50, you are at higher risk and should get your first test 10 years before they were diagnosed and repeat it at least every five years. If no problems are found and you have no family history, testing can be limited to once every 10 years.

What to expect: For a colonoscopy, the gold-standard diagnostic test, your doctor uses a colonoscope, an instrument with a tiny video camera, to examine your large intestine for polyps and other growths.

What the results mean: If polyps are found, they will be removed and biopsied, says David E. Beck, M.D., chairman of the department of colon and rectal surgery at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, in New Orleans. Depending on the results, you may need surgical treatment or additional testing within three to five years. less