My Journey With Health And Fitness – It’s Healthcare Month!

A few blogs ago I talked about not allowing the weather to stop me from meeting my goals. Hmm, I am now reconsidering that decision. Yesterday I went out for my 2nd walk and since the first one had been on the treadmill I was determined to do it outside. It was raining a little but I figured it should be fine. It was not fine!!!!! About 10 minutes in the skies opened up and the wind went crazy. The end result was an hour later I got home freezing cold and soaking wet. Sigh, strangely I would do it again.

Today is my day for starting a month of taking care of my health. Yes, some of it is uncomfortable but it has to be done. We are starting today with my PAP test which I have done every 3 years without exception. I admit, it is not the most pleasant of experiences but I know testing is extremely important in detecting cervical cancer. And then for reasons that even I don’t understand, I also booked my mammogram for today. I have a screening mammogram done every year (this year it is quite late because of 1) a backlog and 2) my last appointment being canceled due to lack of staff) because of my Mom having breast cancer. Again, not a fun thing to have done but it is so important in the early detection of breast cancer.

Oh, but there is more. Next week I have an appointment with the dentist followed by an eye exam. The eye exam is particularly important because it can detect such things as glaucoma and retinopathy in diabetics. Despite my ongoing control over my glucose levels I still have to have my eyes tested every year. We then move on to my annual blood/urine screening and just to make things even more fun it is time for a stool sample test (note, I will gladly (almost) do this test as opposed to a colonoscopy). Finally once all the tests are done I have my annual physical which is also necessary when you are diabetic even if you are like me and are considered in remission.

To me it is more important to get out in front of any potential health issue than procrastinating because the testing causes discomfort. Yes the next few weeks will suck because of all of this but hopefully in the end I get a clean bill of health due to all the hard work I have put in getting myself healthy and fit.