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THE FIT LIFE: Regular checkups can save a life

Magdalena Romanska

Magdalena Romanska

National Fire Protection Association encourages homeowners to change their smoke detector batteries when adjusting their clocks to daylight savings time. With Arizona not observing the DST (with the exception of the Navajo Nation), that important task might escape us. And it might (or might not) cost us life.

As we are finishing 2022 and entering the brand new 2023, I am urging you to perform the recommended medical check-ups for your own body. If we do not follow on those periodic check-ups, it might (or might not) cost us a life. Just like in case of the smoke detector batteries.

Periodical (often, yearly) wellness physical exam should never be ignored. You want to know the basics (BP, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, weight/Body Mass Index, do the colorectal screening, bone density, dental and dermatologist exams, screen for the PSA [for the males] and cervical cancer and breast cancer [in females]).

It is nerve-racking to await the results, but they can save your life. I am a major advocate of facing the truth – even if the truth is not pretty – rather than being an ostrich and hiding your head in the sand.

The results of those tests will equip your GP with the information they need to prevent potentially life-threatening conditions in you.

Nov. 29, 2022, I won my own battle with breast cancer. The initial Oct. 5 mammogram revealed changes on the right side. Follow-up mammograms and an ultrasound resulted in Nov. 7 biopsies.

Coincidentally, the Nov. 1 physical exam and palpation did not detect anything… Even once I shared with the doctor that, following abnormal mammograms, I was to undergo additional biopsies and I pinpointed to their precise location. It was the routine yearly mammogram and its swift and accurate interpretation by the Breast Radiologist, Dr. Christopher Ebersole (Northern Arizona Radiology), which saved my life. The Doctor called me with the terrifying diagnosis of Stage 0 DCIS on Nov. 9. The following day, I followed up with the Comprehensive Breast Center at Honor Health in Phoenix.

Time was of the essence, and I had to fight to remove the problem soonest. The Team was able and eager to act fast and agreed with my own radical approach of a double mastectomy. Several appointments and scary tests later, on Nov. 29, I underwent the mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. It was the day when I became cancer-free and won my battle against the disease. Additional lymph node biopsy and genetic testing turned out negative. Both surgeons and their teams, and the Hospital Staff, were fabulous. And a few dear Friends who knew and supported me through this made it bearable and possible for me!

I faced the diagnosis head-up and ready to fight. It was a scary and shocking couple of weeks and a painful recovery from the surgery. However, my insistence on yearly check-ups and on quick and radical surgery resulted in me being completely healthy now, with no need for radiotherapy, chemo, or any other unusual follow-up. Lifetime risk of any recurrence is less than that of the general population and at below 2%.

Please, mark your calendars and make time for those ever-important tests. They truly save lives!

Magdalena is the owner of the Be Fit Fit Personal Training Studio (www.befitfit.biz) and the Top 3% Chairman’s Board Realtor® at the Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International in Sedona. Visit her “Be Fit Fit” blog at verdenews.com.


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