No one likes blood draws, pap smears and colonoscopies. But these tests are key to detecting serious health conditions and determining risk. Some tests you’ll need throughout your lifetime, while others are limited to certain decades of your life. 

While heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined, cancer is still scary. Cancers that commonly affect women are breast, lung, endometrial, colorectal, skin, cervical and ovarian, with the most common being breast cancer and the deadliest being lung cancer. 

Like heart disease, some cancers are preventable. These lifestyle tips can help lower your risk:

Download our Women's Health infographic.

Many factors contribute to your good health — and one aspect that may not surprise you is having a good rapport with your doctor. Naturally, patients want a primary care physician who can skillfully diagnose and treat their illnesses. But the most successful doctor and patient relationships pair the doctor’s knowledge with collaborative communication, involving a two-way exchange of information. Patients also experience the greatest satisfaction when there is trust, mutual respect and a sense of caring and emotional support from their physician. 

Many women chalk up menopause to be simply being the end of their monthly cycles. And while this is true, there’s a lot more involved.

For example, most women don’t know that starting their period at a young age can lead to an earlier menopause, according to MDVIP’s Women’s Health Study. The average age of menopause is only 51 – many women experience it in their 40s. Being a smoker or having a chronic illness can speed up the timeline.

Read on to answer your questions about menopause.

Traditionally, women have been concerned about women’s related health issues – breast cancer, reproductive health, urinary tract infections and osteoporosis. These are legitimate concerns that women should address and discuss with their doctors. 

Mental health has always been an important issue in the U.S., but it shifted to the forefront of concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, 41 percent of American adults described symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder in January 2021, according to an analysis conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The analysis also indicated more women than men were depressed or anxious during this time. 

Osteoporosis is referred to as a silent disease because it often develops without you knowing it. Since you can’t feel bones weakening or becoming brittle, you may not realize you have osteoporosis until your first bone fracture. 

About 54 million Americans struggle with this debilitating condition, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. And each year there are 1.5 million costly, painful and sometimes life-threatening osteoporosis related fractures. This is why it’s important to understand how to prevent and control osteoporosis. 

The problem is not new. For decades, women have complained their doctors don’t listen to them, believe them or take their symptoms seriously. Why are doctors dismissive of their female patients?

“It’s not so much that doctors are dismissive of women,” says Andrea Klemes DO, chief medical officer, MDVIP. “There are many other factors involved. I think the biggest problem is that men’s and women’s bodies don’t work the same way, which means doctors need to recognize this and treat genders differently.“

Updated on April 28, 2021 

The federal government has given states the green light to readminister the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID vaccine. On April 13, the Food and Drug Administration urged states to pause giving the vaccine after six women developed dangerous blood clots. 

The FDA along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted the pause and said the known and potential benefits of the J&J vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks.