What You Need To Know About Preventative Health Check

From 50 Onwards

At 50, it might seem like life is beginning to slow down. Unfortunately there’s one thing that isn’t slowing down, your health checks!

• Breast Cancer (from 50 up, every 2 years)

A large number of the women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer are over 50 years old, so this is generally considered the age at which women should start to get regular mammograms. BreastScreen Australia offers a free mammogram every two years to women who have no signs of breast cancer, and they will even undertake them on women who are under 50. In general, if you’re worried about your risk of breast cancer, consider starting regular mammograms at around 40, and continuing every two years after.

• Bowel Cancer (from 50 – 75, every 2 years)

Early signs of bowel cancer are small amounts of blood into the bowel (and therefore the stools). But, this blood is usually too minimal to be seen by the human eye. That is why doctors recommend faecal occult blood tests (FOBT) every two years for those aged 50 and over. By collecting a small stool sample, your doctor can test for this minimal amount of blood, and detect very early any bowel cancers.

How do you keep up with your health checks?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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