You Ignore Aches and Pains
If you're knee-deep in caring for kids, managing a household, and holding down a job, you may be quick to brush off a nagging cough, back twinge, or bout of indigestion. You may think fatigue is your natural state. You shouldn't ignore any of those symptoms. Three years ago, Stephanie Goldner, a 37-year-old mother of four, went to work despite waking up with what felt like a bad case of indigestion. I had to get to work, she says. I had a deadline. But as soon as her colleagues at Baptist Hospital in Miami took one look at her, they sent her to the emergency room. There, she learned that her bad indigestion was actually a heart attack.
Why didn't she just stay in bed that morning? Her answer will probably sound familiar. Even when you feel awful, you have things to do, Goldner says. I really don't have time to coddle myself over a cold or heartburn.
And there's the irony: Although women tend to go to doctors more often than men, and though they're the caretakers for everyone from grandparents to the pet parakeet, they're least likely to take care of themselves, says Diana Dell, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. Personal wellness and preventive care always take a backseat to caring for someone else.
Research suggests that some women will ignore even crushing fatigue and pain, symptoms that in a partner or child would send them scurrying for a doctor's appointment.
For example, a study of 1,725 US and Canadian women with ovarian cancer--one of the deadliest cancers because it's often not caught until it has advanced--found that nearly all had symptoms before they were diagnosed, but about half ignored them for more than 3 months before finally seeing a doctor. (Those symptoms included bloating, abdominal or pelvic pain, and bleeding.)
Likewise, many women who suffer heart attacks have symptoms such as unusual fatigue and shortness of breath as long as a month beforehand, says a new study that looked at 515 recently diagnosed women. And while some report their symptoms to a doctor, a significant number don't, says lead researcher Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. It's about fifty-fifty, she says. Some of the women in our study who didn't go to their doctors attributed their symptoms to getting older. Others delayed seeking treatment because they were waiting for the symptoms to either get worse or go away.
In addition to ignoring warning signs, women can't seem to find time for routine maintenance. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women, yet 40 percent of women over 40 haven't had a mammogram in the past year, says Debbie Saslow, director of Breast and Gynecologic Cancer at the American Cancer Society. Women over 40 should have a routine screening annually. Similarly, up to 15 percent of vulnerable women have not had a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer in the past 3 years.
The Fix
Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of serious illness, know your risk factors, report anything unusual immediately, and don't let anything get in the way of regular screening tests, which can often detect problems when they're still small and treatable.
Goldner now says her heart attack was a wake-up call to take better care of her health. She quit smoking and lost 60 pounds. She advises other women to pay attention if they don't feel well. Don't cruise along and hope that things will get better, she says. At some point you have got to make yourself a priority.
