Trish Trumper, RMT

I saw this post the other day and it really resonated. 75% of my patients are female.

Here are five steps every woman should take for her health and wellbeing:

1️⃣ - know your screening schedule and actually follow it. HPV testing alone every five years is now the preferred option for women 30 to 65 per ACOG 2026.
And you can now collect your own HPV sample at home.
Cervical cancer is one of the only cancers we can actually prevent with screening. Skipping it is not a neutral choice.

2️⃣ - the HPV vaccine prevents cancer. Full stop. Up to 90% of cervical cancers. Plus vaginal, vulvar, a**l, and throat cancers. It is recommended through age 26 and available through age 45. If you have not had it - ask about it at your next appointment.

3️⃣ - postmenopausal bleeding is never normal. One episode. Even light. Even if it stopped. It needs to be evaluated same week - not at your next annual. This is the symptom that catches uterine cancer early. Do not dismiss it.

4️⃣ - know your family history and ask about genetic testing when it matters. Hereditary cancer syndromes affect 1 in 300 people and most carriers have no family history at all. If anyone in your family has had ovarian, uterine, breast, or colorectal cancer - especially at a young age or in multiple relatives - bring it up with your doctor. Knowing changes everything.

5️⃣ - if you are having any pelvic surgery and you have completed your family, ask your surgeon about removing your fallopian tubes at the same time. Up to 80% of the most lethal ovarian cancers originate in the fallopian tube. Removing them reduces your risk by up to 78%.
The ovaries stay. No surgical menopause. Most women are never told this exists.

Save this. Share it with every woman in your life.
These five things could change - or save - a life.

Pic of the breakwater at sunset on Monday