Dear Dr. Roach: I am an 84-year-old woman in good health. I have been faithfully going to the gynecologist and having a mammogram every year. Do I really need to keep seeing the gynecologist 鈥� I haven鈥檛 had any problems in 30聽years 鈥� or can I just continue to get my annual mammogram? S.B.H.
I wouldn鈥檛 recommend stopping visits to your primary care doctor, who may be your gynecologist. It鈥檚 very important to have your regular visits, even if in good health, to check in, check your blood pressure and have an exam.
When to stop performing screening tests is a controversial subject. If your gynecologist is still doing Pap smears, those can stop. Women who have had multiple normal regular exams and who have no history of precancerous abnormalities or cancer can stop Pap smears after age 65.
When to stop mammograms isn鈥檛 clear, but both the 91原创 Task Force and the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force make no recommendations above age 75. I recommend still doing them for a healthy woman until she gets a condition where it makes no sense to do them anymore (like a terminal illness), or she is over age 75 and doesn鈥檛 want to do them anymore.
Dear Dr. Roach: Almost on a daily basis, I have small black spots in my phlegm. My doctor has told me that it is blood. I am concerned that it could be something more serious. I am a veteran of the first Gulf War, and I was exposed to oil fires and burn pits. Is it common for blood to be in phlegm, or should I seek further treatment? C.T.
Blood in the mucus (phlegm) is NOT common, it is ALWAYS a concern, and you should definitely seek further treatment from a pulmonologist (lung specialist). You almost certainly will need a CT scan. Don鈥檛 wait.
