During a typical pelvic exam, your doctor or nurse will: Ask you to take off your clothes in private. (You will be given a gown or other covering.) Talk to you about any health concerns. Ask you to lie on your back and relax.

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A pelvic exam is a way for doctors to look for signs of illness in organs in a woman's body. The word "pelvic" refers to the pelvis. The exam is used to look at a woman's: Uterus (the womb) Cervix (opening from the uterus to t

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Adjuvant therapy: Treatment provided in addition to the primary treatment. Alternative medicine: Practices not generally recognized by the medical community as standard or conventional medical approaches. Alzheimer's disease: A progressive diseas

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Yes. Just as you must use protection if you do not want to become pregnant during perimenopause, you must also take measures to protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) during menopause and postmenopause. It's important to rememb

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If you are lactose-intolerant, or have difficulty digesting milk, you may not be getting enough calcium in your diet. Although most dairy products may be intolerable, some yogurt and hard cheeses might be digestible. You can also eat lactose-containi

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Is There a Safe Alternative to Hormone Therapy? For those women who cannot take hormone therapy for health reasons or choose not to because of personal reasons, there are alternatives, including: Bisphosphonates. This group of medications inc

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    A painless and accurate test can provide information about your bone health before problems begin. Bone mineral density (BMD) tests, or bone measurements, are X-rays that use very small amounts of radiation to determine bone strength.

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Osteoporosis is a disease that weakens bones, increasing the risk of sudden and unexpected fractures. Literally meaning "porous bone," it results in an increased loss of bone mass and strength. The disease often progresses without any sympt

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In 2001, the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) developed the "Stages of Heart Failure." These stages will help you understand that heart failure is often a progressive condition and can worsen over ti

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The FDA advisory follows a new warning label released in Europe by Crestor maker Astra-Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. The changes are a response to recent reports of serious toxicity in some patients taking the drug. The new European label stresses that pat

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Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women over 40 years old, especially after menopause. In the United States more than 500,000 women die each year of heart disease. This translates to approximately one death every minute. Once a woman r

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U.S. health officials have approved the only long-term implantable birth-control product for the American market. Implanon continually releases a low dose of the hormone progestin for up to three years. The product has already been used by about 2.5

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You will be asked to undress from the waist up and put on a medical garment (johnny top) suitable for use during the test. Your health care provider will explain the procedure. During the test, you will lie on your back on the examining table. A wat

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Cervical cancer is cancer of the uterine cervix, the portion of the uterus attached to the top of the vagina. Ninety percent of cervical cancers arise from the flattened or "squamous" cells covering the cervix. Most of the remaining 10% ari

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Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is medication containing one or more female hormones, commonly estrogen plus progestin (synthetic progesterone). Some women receive estrogen-only therapy (usually women who have had their uterus removed). HRT is mos

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Mention the term "heart attack" and most people imagine a pudgy, middle-aged man drenched in sweat and clutching his chest. Ask a woman what she fears most and chances are good she'll reply "breast cancer." Few patients seem to c

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