Mount Auburn Healthcare Connection

One of the biggest risks for women after menopause is osteoporosis.

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After menopause one of the biggest risks for women is developing osteoporosis, which is a loss of bone mass or thinning of the bones, according to Bindiya Ananthakrishnan, M.D., obstetrician and gynecologist at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. A woman’s bone mass is influenced by many factors, including family history, lifestyle, nutrition, and different medications. Estrogen is the hormone that has been found to have the most positive impact on building and maintaining bone mass and, since women no longer produce estrogen after menopause, they are particularly vulnerable to developing osteoporosis.

Women should start having annual pap smears at the age of 30.

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Women should have pap smears yearly after the age of 21 or within three years of the onset of sexual activity, whichever comes first,” says Beth Goldbaum, M.D., obstetrician and gynecologist at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The exception, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Cancer Society, is for women after the age of 30, especially if they are in low risk relationships and have had three normal annual pap smears. These women can decrease the frequency of their pap smears to every two to three years.

A physical exam is the best way to detect small calcifications in the breast, which may be early indicators of breast cancer.

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Mammograms are particularly effective in detecting microcalcifications, which are cells that are starting to change but haven’t reached the “lump” stage yet, according to Beth Roy, LICSW, Coordinator, The Hoffman Breast Center at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. She says, “Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer. Both mammograms and ultrasound tests can catch cancer cells just as they are starting to develop and that is when they can be most effectively treated.”

Women should never take hormone replacement therapy for the symptoms of menopause.

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Hormone replacement therapy, according to Amy McGaraghan, M.D., obstetrician and gynecologist at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, is still the most effective treatment for hot flashes and vaginal dryness, two major symptoms women sometimes experience during menopause. While recent studies have indicated a relationship between cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, if you don’t have risk factors for these conditions, then it’s probably fine if you take estrogen at the lowest effective dose for a short period of time in order to relieve menopause symptoms.

You only need a screening mammogram if you feel a lump in your breast.

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Screening mammograms are routine x-rays of the breasts that are performed when there is no clinical abnormality. Madeline Crivello, M.D., a radiologist at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, says, “Every woman should have an annual mammogram exam after the age of 40, or earlier if she has a family history of breast cancer.” Diagnostic mammograms are performed when a woman has pain or a lump in her breast or some other issue that indicates a possible abnormality.

There are some helpful steps a woman can do on her own to control urinary incontinence.

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There are steps a woman can take in her own home to address incontinence before even going to the doctor’s office. Peter Rosenblatt, M.D., Director of Urogynecology, at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, suggests that one of the most useful and overlooked steps is keeping a diary of your voiding habits (or number of bathroom visits). By writing down everything you drink and each time you go to the bathroom, you may be able to see a pattern you can control. You can also do Kegel exercises. This means contracting and releasing the pelvic floor muscles, which you use to hold back urine.

Mount Auburn Healthcare Connection

Quiz

One of the biggest risks for women after menopause is osteoporosis.

Women should start having annual pap smears at the age of 30.

A physical exam is the best way to detect small calcifications in the breast, which may be early indicators of breast cancer.

Women should never take hormone replacement therapy for the symptoms of menopause.

You only need a screening mammogram if you feel a lump in your breast.

There are some helpful steps a woman can do on her own to control urinary incontinence.

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