health
You're never too young
Some college-age women may be avoiding important health precautions that could possibly save their lives.
Some college women avoid having a
yearly gynecological exam.
Some feel embarrassed or uncomfortable. Some think they don't need a checkup because they are not sexually active or because they think they are too young.
Some women simply do not know that such an exam can save their lives.
"It's this whole feeling among youths that they are indestructible," said Kathleen Stone-Kaseff of the Women's Health Care Group, 3211 Clinton Parkway Ct. "But once a woman starts menstruating, she needs to have a breast and pelvic exam. There could be many abnormal conditions present whether the woman is sexually active or not. The only one who knows how to find those conditions is an obstetrician-gynecologist."
One condition that is common among women during their reproductive years is ovarian cysts. These cysts are fluid-filled sacks, similar to blisters, that grow on the ovaries. Although most are harmless, ovarian cysts can cause a woman to experience abdominal pain and irregular vaginal bleeding.
"When I first started having pains from my cyst, I thought it was either cramps or sore muscles from playing sports," said Stephanie, a Leawood senior who preferred not to give her last name. "I was only a senior in high school, and I wasn't sexually active, so I hadn't ever had a gynecological exam. When it got so bad that I went to the doctor, my doctor discovered that I had an ovarian cyst three inches in diameter."
Stephanie's doctor gave her a prescription for birth control pills. The estrogen hormone in the pills has been known to help shrink ovarian cysts. However, the treatment was not successful in Stephanie's case.
"As my body grew, the pill just stopped working on the cyst," Stephanie said. "Two years later, I
started having the pains again, and I knew what it was, but I put off going to the doctor. When I finally went, they said they were worried about it and that they were going to have to do surgery to remove it.
"I remember thinking, 'No way.' I'm 21 years old,
this doesn't happen to people my age,' she said.
Stephanie said her doctor removed the hardened tissue from the cyst, but left the balloon-like sack that had held the tissue because it was connected to her ovaries. Stephanie's doctor told her that after she had her first child, the sack would go away.
"It still fills up with fluid right before my period," Stephanie said. "I can feel it every month, but at least it's not growing anymore."
Stone-Kaseff said that most ovarian cysts were monitered before the decision was made to remove them.
Cysts also can occur in the breasts, causing concern about another well-known women's health issue: breast cancer. One way of detecting cysts and potentially cancerous tumors is through regular breast self-examinations.
"It should be fundamental that every woman knows and practices the breast self-exam," Stone-Kaseff said. "That and seeing your obstetrician-ygecologist or physician regularly is the best line of defense for prevention of breast cancer."
Some young women develop fibroids in their breasts. Fibroids are benign tumors made of fibrous and muscular tissue. Although these harmless lumps may make a young woman desire a mammogram to examine the tissue inside the breast, doctors do not recommend mammograms for women under 30 years old.
"Most college women are too young to do a mammogram on because their breasts have denser tissue than women at age 30 or 35," said Henry Buck, Watkins Health Center gynecologist. "It's like looking at breast tissue through a fog."
Buck said it was rare for younger women to develop cancerous tumors in their breasts though it has been known to happen. Most women develop cancerous tumors after the age of 30.
"The risk of breast cancer in college-age women is
there," said Kathy Guth, nurse practitioner at Watkins. "And that can be very scary. But the more women get used to what their bodies are doing through self-examination and get used to that routine, the easier it is to notice a difference in their bodies."
Buck said that women were less likely to develop either cancerous or non-cancerous cysts in the breasts or ovaries if they were taking birth control pills. He also stressed the need for annual gynecological exams for early detection of threatening growths.
"The biggest risk in women's health now is sexually transmitted diseases," he said. "The two major STDs are human papilloma virus, also known as genital warts, and chlamydia. If they are on the cervix and not detected early, genital warts can be precancerous. Chlamydia is an infection involving the fallopian tubes and ovaries that can cause sterility."
Sexually active women are instructed to practice safe sex and see their gynecologist annually. It also is strongly suggested that all women receive a pelvic exam after their first period, Stone-Kaseff said.
"All your ObGyn wants to do is make sure everything is normal," Stone-Kaseff said. "Women should have a pelvic exam for peace of mind, if nothing else. It only takes a few minutes."
Stephanie said she agreed.
"Everyone should get a gynecological checkup yearly," she said. "You don't have to have sex to have those kinds of problems. Cervical cancer, cysts and things like that aren't venereal diseases. They're biological diseases."
Source: Albert Einstein Healthcare Foundation
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
W Gunderman/KAMBAN
People and places at the University of Kansas.
calendar
EXHIBITIONS AND LECTURES
Exhibition - "Imagery and Form," Feb. 15. March 10 at The Lawrence Arts Center, 200 W. 9th St.
Closing Show- "Art Wake" by Artists En
Masse, Feb. 12-Feb. 27 at Artists En Masse,
803 1/2 Massachusetts St.
Hallmark symposium - Sheila de Bretteville, design educator at Yale University, Monday, Feb. 21 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Lecture - artist Phoebe Adams on her work, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Program - "Female-Male Relationships," 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22 at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union.
Tour du jour · Mark Roeyer, Spencer Museum of Art exhibition designer on exhibition design, 12:15-12:45 p.m. tomorrow at Central Court in the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition - The Sleep of Reason: Reality and Fantasy in the Print Series of Goya," Jan. 9-Feb. 20 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition - Dennis Oppenheim: Drawings and Selected Sculpture, Jan. 16-Feb. 27 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition - Sacred and Profane: Two Books In Black and White, Jan. 23-March 20 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition - "By a Clearer Light: Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the National Park Service - Photographs by David Halpm," Jan. 31.Feb. 19 at the Kansas Union Gallery.
PERFORMANCES
The Renegade Theatre Company presents "East Side Comedy Shop," 8 p.m. Friday, Feb.
18; 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Renegade Theatre, 518 E. 8th St. $5 public.
Concert - Lawrence Chamber Players, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 20 at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St. $5 public, $4 senior citizens
and students. $3 children.
Concert - The University of Kansas Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb.18 at the Lied Center. $6 public, $3 students and $5 senior citizens.
New Directions Series - The Lewitzky Dance Company, 8 tonight at the Lied Center. $16 and $14 public, $8 and $7 students, $15 and $13 senior citizens and other students.
Student Recital - Christopher Lair, tuba, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19 at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Faculty Recital - Deborah Clark, harp, 7:30 p.m. Feb.21 at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Faculty Recital - Oread Baroque Ensemble,
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb.22 at St. Lawrence Catholic Student Center.
Doctoral Recital - Ann Waldhart, plano, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23 at Swarthout Recital Hall.
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