Your primary care provider at Marion Physician Associates recommends how often you should have a women’s health exam. In general, most women benefit from annual exams. But if you have chronic health issues, you may need more frequent exams.

Your care provider considers many factors, including your health history, age, current health concerns, and lifestyle to determine which tests you need. Your tests typically include a Pap smear, which checks for the early changes indicative of cervical cancer, but you might not need a Pap smear every year. You may also need other tests, such as for HPV or other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Although some women’s health providers ask you to visit off-site labs or clinics for blood, urine, and imaging tests, Marion Physician Associates has a laboratory on-site. Many tests, such as venous scans and stress tests, are available at the practice for your convenience.

For comprehensive women’s health care from the trusted care providers you already know, call Marion Physician Associates, P.A. or use online booking now.

A women’s health exam at Marion Physician Associates has several components, including:

In your pelvic exam, your care provider checks your inner and outer genitals and gently examines your pelvic area to evaluate uterine health. If you’re having a Pap smear, your Marion Physician Associates provider takes the cell sample from your cervix during your pelvic exam.

A clinical breast exam, in which your Marion Physician Associates provider softly manipulates your breast tissue to check for lumps, is always included in your women’s health exams. Although your care provider can sometimes identify lumps during a clinical breast exam, it doesn’t replace a mammogram. If you need a mammogram based on your age or breast cancer risk factors, your provider tells you during your women’s health exam.

A women’s health exam can also include a variety of whole-body tests and screenings if needed. If you’ve recently had a regular physical exam, you might not need new blood and urine tests. As your primary care providers, the Marion Physician Associates team knows just how to customize your women’s health exams because they already know you and your health history well.