9 Reasons to Book a Doctor's Appointment Today:
- You'll feel better once the date's penciled in.
- You CAN afford it! The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provides breast and cervical cancer screenings to women who can't afford them. Visit parenting.com/freescreenings.
- You'll set the right example for your family.
- You'll create a stronger doctor-patient bond.
- Your doctor needs updates on your family's health, too. “If a close relative has developed a disease, such as colon cancer, you may need to be screened sooner than she'd normally suggest,” says Monya De, M.D., a Los Angeles internist.
- Your fears will likely be calmed! Take breast cancer: “For every lump you can feel, 90 percent of the time it isn't malignant,” says Linnea Chap, M.D., a breast-cancer specialist at Beverly Hills Cancer Center.
- You'll learn what you SHOULD be worried about. “I help my patients understand the cancer risks that rise and fall through different phases of their lives,” says Lawrence Wagman, M.D., executive medical director for the St. Joseph Hospital Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment, in Orange, CA.
- Lots of cancers are curable—IF THEY'RE CAUGHT EARLY.
- Read #8 again.
These high-powered moms wanted to share something with you:
Shannon Miller, 34, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 33
Mom to: Rocco, almost 3
“It's really important to shout from the rooftops and tell women that we have to make our health a priority. We're so busy taking care of everyone else, and we have to make that time for ourselves, too. It's not a selfish act—it's a very selfless act. If we don't take time for our health, then we won't be here for our kids and our family and everyone else.”
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 45, U.S. Rep. for Florida's 20th congressional district, chair of the Democratic National Committee
Diagnosed with breast cancer at 41
Mom to: Rebecca and Jake, both 13, and Shelby, 9
“I have double reminders of what I've been through [a double mastectomy]. But we just had my twins' bar and bat mitzvah, and everything is more poignant and sweet. Every milestone you can be there for, you can't help but think, it might not have been.”
Marissa Jaret Winokur, 39, Tony Award—winning singer/actress/dancer, currently starring in Retired at 35
Diagnosed with cervical cancer at 27
Mom to: Zev, 4
“I don't regret having cancer, because then Zev [Winokur's son conceived through a surrogate, since she'd had a hysterectomy] wouldn't be Zev. I'm so grateful for who he is, and a lot of who he is is how he came to us. There are so many ways to be a mother if you want to be.”
