This is a sponsored conversation written by me with support from Hologic, Inc. The opinions and text are all mine.
It’s the beginning of a new year. Starting fresh. Starting new. Taking charge. Doing you. Gotta love a good rhyme. But off the cuff poetry aside, it is true. Ladies, we are in our 30s and it is time to start taking our health seriously and making it a priority.
It can be so easy to let it go by the wayside, but now is the most important time to take care of ourselves and not let ourselves be last in the pecking order, always putting everyone ahead of our needs. It can be so easy to forget with so many things going on in our lives and so our health can be placed on the back burner.
January is National Cervical Health Awareness Month and HealthyWomen and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH developed a campaign called “Sentiments from the Stirrups.”
NPWH’s mission is to ensure the provision of quality and specialty healthcare to women of all ages. This includes promoting a woman’s right to make her own choices regarding her health. Empowering right?
HealthyWomen (HW) is a non-profit and the nation’s leading independent health information source for women. Their core mission is to educate, inform and empower women to make smart health choices for themselves and their families. HealthyWomen provides health information that is original, objective, accurate and reviewed by medical experts that are reflective of the advances in evidence-based health research. www.HealthyWomen.org, was named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes Woman.
If you have questions on your health or concerns, HW is an important and resourceful website to help you understand your health and wellness.
This is the time of year that is perfect to think about your health and your annual exam. Now that we are in our 30s, this time is so important to make sure that we are diligent about getting our annual exams done.
There is one thing we must bring up to our doctor to get tested for that may or may not already be on your health care providers list. It is to test for HPV in addition to the Pap Smear test. Nothing additional needs to be done for this exam. It is one swab and two tests.
Some doctors will test for HPV in their usual routine, and others will not. It is super important to your health and wellness that you ask your doctor what they plan to test for and if testing for HPV is on the list as well as your Pap.
Now that I am in my 30s, it is even more important to have this test done. I am diligent about making sure HPV is tested with my annual exam and I am happy to say I have been HPV free since. The medical guidelines that are recommended for women 30-65 is to have the Pap+HPV together because it detects more cancer and pre-cancer than either test that is just used alone. And remember, it is one swab for the two tests.
Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers in the U.S, which makes it so important to make sure this is a priority for your health to get these tests and to make sure you ask your doctor if she is ordering both tests to be completed.
A new survey came out about what women are really thinking, their “sentiments from the stirrups.” It shares their thoughts and behaviors before, during and after their Pap exam.
Here are a few of the results from the survey:
- 4 in 5 (80%) women prefer to wear granny panties instead of lingerie
- 7 in 10 women specifically shave and wax for their GYN exam; in fact, around 1 in 10 (7%) women have specifically gotten a bikini or Brazilian wax for their GYN exam.
- 4 in 5 (80%) women keep their socks on while in the stirrups
- Women are 26% more likely to talk to talk about the weather than their sex life
- 1 in 4 women would rather discuss their favorite TV show than the tests they receive at their GYN exam
To learn more about cervical cancer screening, visit HealthyWomen.org. For more information check out their Facebook or twitter.
Stay involved in your health and make it a priority. You’re worth it.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hologic. The opinions and text are all mine.
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