As one of the premier providers of affordable senior housing and retirement care in Cincinnati, women’s health — particularly, the health of senior women — is of great importance to us. To that end, we at Episcopal Retirement Services (ERS) make concerted efforts to continually promote women’s health and senior women’s health in the community.

Come to our community screening event!

This Saturday, July 16 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., we’re teaming with TriHealth Women’s Services to offer women’s health screening services in Madisonville, at our St. Paul Village affordable senior living community.

This event will be open to all women 18 years of age or older and will include screenings for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis (brittle bones) and obesity.

“Our program goal is to eradicate the barriers that prevent at-risk populations from accessing and receiving timely medical care,” said Patricia Bacchus, the supervising nurse of TriHealth’s Healthy Women, Healthy Lives Program. “Our health screenings are at no cost to the participants.”

(Photo courtesy of Tri Health Women's Services)

The importance of early detection

Saturday’s health screening event will include mammograms for women 40 and older. To schedule your mammogram this Saturday, please call 513-862-1050 as soon as possible; no-cost mammograms will be provided for uninsured and underinsured participants.

Regular mammograms are recommended for middle-aged and senior women, for the early detection of certain breast cancers. Breast cancer can be quite aggressive. If left undetected and untreated, it can quickly spread to other areas of the body. It’s the most common form of cancer in women, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Although survival rates for certain types of breast cancer have improved, it can still often be deadly. One of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer is that associated with the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 (“BREK-ah”) genes.

Many doctors now recommend that women with a significant family history of breast cancer be screened for BRCA genes. So strong is the correlation between the gene and occurrence of breast cancer that those women found to have BRCA genes are often strongly advised to have a pre-emptive double mastectomy.

If breast cancer runs in your family, you should ask your doctor to run a genetic test on you to determine your risk. And you should certainly be getting your regular mammograms.

Heart disease in women is a silent killer

Doctors know that heart attacks often present with atypical symptoms in women. In fact, they’re known as one of the “great deceivers” in emergency medicine.

In men, the onset of a heart attack is almost always accompanied by diaphoresis (heavy sweating), stabbing left-sided chest pain that radiates down the left arm, dizziness and disorientation. But in women, some or all of those symptoms may not be present.

Heart disease is the leading killer of American women. One in four women in the United States die from heart disease or related complications of heart disease. Approximately two-thirds of women who die of acute coronary problems report no prior symptoms of heart disease.

Because of that, it’s very important for older women to be screened for heart attack risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. Early detection and treatment of heart disease can reduce the risk that a woman will experience a deadly heart attack in the future.

Osteoporosis is a significant risk factor for serious fall-related injuries

Changes in the body that occur with aging often include density being lost from bones. When that happens, bones become porous and brittle.

This condition — called osteoporosis — makes serious, sometimes life-threatening fall-related injuries like broken hips, broken legs, rib and vertebral fractures, much more likely. Senior women are four times as likely than senior men to suffer from osteoporosis of the hip and lower back.

So, after menopause, it’s very important for women to work with their doctors to monitor bone density and serum calcium levels in the blood.

Free gifts for screening participants

In addition to the screening tests mentioned and a personalized one-on-one review of your results with a qualified health professional, participants at our women’s health event will receive a free gift, just for coming out.

Here are the details:

Women’s Health Screenings

presented by: TriHealth’s Healthy Women, Healthy Lives Program

Saturday, July 16, 2016

8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Registration closes at 1:15 p.m.

St. Paul Village

5515 Madison Road

Cincinnati, OH 45227

Please call 513-862-1050 in advance to schedule your mammogram.

If you’re a senior woman living in Cincinnati, we hope you’ll avail yourself of this opportunity for a free assessment of your health and for your recommended annual mammogram if you’re 40 or older. See you Saturday!