One of the reasons why women don’t attend preventive gynecological examinations is the fear of getting diagnosed with some form of cancer. But if these types of diseases are discovered early enough, the entire treatment process has a much greater chance of success.
This is a fact Miroslav Verner, MD, Chief Physician of Gynecology at the Canadian Medical clinic, is more than familiar with. “Should a woman attend preventive examinations as regularly as recommended, it is highly likely that serious diseases such as cancer will be revealed in their very early stages, wherein the general success of their treatment is very often predicted at almost a hundred percent. At the same time, the truth remains that the symptoms of any such serious disease will eventually force a woman to visit her physician – at which point it might very well be too late. Treatment in such cases is much more difficult, and not always entirely successful,” he points out.
Seniors need checkups too
Every woman after the age of fifteen should attend a gynecological examination once a year. This schedule ensures that any possible issues will be discovered early enough to be successfully treated.
“This interval is more than enough where diagnosing diseases early is concerned, especially very serious ones like cervical cancer,” Dr. Verner confirms, and doesn’t hesitate to add that women should never skip their regular examinations, no matter the age – including senior women who are no longer sexually active. “These women can get sick as well, and are essentially bound by the same general rules as women of reproductive age. It is unfortunately seniors who visit their gynecologists the least, as they consider those types of checkups pointless at their age. Often they only end up visiting after their disease has progressed into a very serious stage.”
The woman herself can influence the success of an examination. A correct early diagnosis of most types of diseases, including gynecological ones, is largely the result of sufficient anamnestic information – meaning anything and everything the patient relinquishes about her own health to her physician. “Women should definitely bring attention to any unusual changes they’ve been observing, such as irregular bleeding, skin changes, noticeable breast lumps, and so on,” Miroslav Verner emphasizes.
Additional examinations
Every woman should attend her first preventive examination at fifteen years of age. It is primarily dedicated to assessing the development of secondary sexual characteristics, offering basic information regarding the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy (meaning birth control options), and the prevention of cervical cancer. Each annual preventive checkup includes the examination of external genital organs, examination of the vagina and cervix using mirrors, a specialized colposcopy of the cervix alongside an oncocytological smear, and perhaps even a breast examination (by touch), especially in patients with previous family history of related diseases. “In such cases, preventive measures should be adopted as early as 25 years of age. These days, an ultrasound examination of internal sexual organs – the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries – is a common, if not obligatory, part of preventive checkups as well,” adds Dr. Verner.
The specifics and symptoms of any and all diseases that affect women change with age, which may lead to a physician recommending further additional examinations. “These include, for example, mammogram screenings after the age of 45, an occult bleeding test or a colonoscopy after the age of 50, or a bone density exam for women going through menopause,” explains Dr. Verner.
CANADIAN MEDICAL
The history of Canadian Medical stretches back to the mid-90s when a small clinic was established in Prague by Canadian doctors with the aim of providing foreigners living in the city with the standard of care they were used to from Canada and the United States of America.
They also invited a small team of Czech doctors and nurses to work with them. Through their effort and high level of expertise, this team helped build a facility that could offer more complex outpatient care to its clients. Care that honors the same founding values – the patient always comes first. Canadian Medical has been caring for its patients for more than twenty years now, and thanks to its physicians, nurses, and back-of-house colleagues, it has been not only caring but also growing dramatically. It became part of the Czech healthcare group EUC, transforming into the largest network of high-end clinics in Czechia.
Canadian Medical has eight facilities in Prague and Brno and it added an inpatient ward with two modern operating theaters to its already comprehensive care repertoire.
MUDr. Miroslav Verner
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