There is an unfortunate idea that check-up packages are only for men. After all,
men have a higher incidence of heart disease, get cancer of the prostate and
lung cancer, so since men die earlier than women, preventive check-ups are more
important for the man of the house.
That concept must have been put forward by a man looking for
sympathy. The truth of the matter is that serial check-ups don’t keep you alive
forever, but they do make a considerable positive difference to the Quality of
Life as one gets older. (I use capital Q and capital L on purpose.) Longevity
alone, with no Quality, just isn’t worth it in my book. Or yours, most likely,
otherwise you would not be reading this column.
The guiding principle behind check-ups is to find deviations
from normal health patterns at an early stage. Early enough that the trend can
be reversed, before damage has occurred. Examples of this include Blood Pressure
(BP), a significant factor in poor health in the future if unchecked now, for
both men and women. High BP can affect many organs in the body, not just the
heart. But an elevated BP generally gives no warning symptoms.
Another example is blood sugar. Again, it requires sky-high
sugar levels before the person begins to feel that something might be wrong. And
by then the sugar levels have affected vision, the vascular system and many
other systems, all of which can decrease your Quality of Life in the future.
Amputation of a limb is a common result of unchecked blood sugar levels. A
situation that neither men nor women would wish for themselves, I am sure.
Cardiac conditions and abnormalities, be that in anatomy or
function, can also very adversely affect your Quality of Life, but are very
easily found during a routine check-up. Various blood tests and an EKG can show
just how well the cardiac pump is functioning, and how well it will continue to
function in the future. The inability to walk more than 50 meters certainly
takes the fun out of mother’s shopping, yet this can be predicted - if you have
some serial records!
Another of the silent killers can be discovered in your lipid
profile, with Cholesterol and its fractions HDL and LDL, being intimately
connected with your cardiac status. Again a situation where detecting
abnormalities now can mean that you can get through the deadly 50-60 year age
bracket in the future with clear coronary arteries and a clean bill of health.
There are actually so many of the conditions that can affect
your enjoyment of the future that can be discovered early. Renal (kidney)
function and liver function can be monitored through an annual check-up, as can
cervical cancer (pap smear) or breast tumors (by mammogram).
So hopefully I have influenced you enough to begin to think
about an annual check-up - especially for your mothers. If so, I have some very
good news for those of you living in Pattaya. The Bangkok Hospital Pattaya
(telephone 1719) has repeated their previous Mother’s Day promotional packages
with big discounts on check-up packages (up to 70 percent for some individual
items, though the check-up packages are generally at 50 percent off). That is
for August, so get Mum down there pretty soon. Mothers are precious people -
mine is 94 and she was found to have cervical cancer 50 years ago. I think we
can call the detection system and the operation a success!
If Mum is under 40 years of age, and you think your Mother is
in good health (non-smoker and moderate drinker) then every two years will be
fine. If mother is older than 40, then make it an annual event. It is good
‘insurance’ for the future.
And what degree of check-up should you go for? If mother is
in tip-top health and previous check-ups have been normal, then go for the
simple screen - however, if she is a smoker, or has some previous results
outside of normal, move up a notch to the more comprehensive tests. I would also
suggest that if she is over 50, look for the more detailed check-ups.
