Your Middle Years

Change is the mantra for your middle years - menopause, issues as both the mother of children who are growing into adulthood and the adult daughter of aging parents.

But your middle years can be a wonderful time for your health.

There's more opportunity to pay attention to your special needs - get some exercise, maybe explore some complementary therapies like yoga and massage.

The bottom line is that you need to pay more attention to yourself - and your health. Get the preventive tests you need, develop health habits that will help minimize the inevitable affects of aging.

And as at any other time in your life, Southcoast has facilities and services nearby to help you feel your best.

Tests You Need in Your Mid-Life Years

• Monthly breast self-examination.
• Breast exam by physician (annually).
• Pap smear (annually).
• Mammogram (annually after age 40).
• Colo-rectal exam (every two years between 40-50, annually over age 50).
• Pelvic exam (annually).
• Blood pressure and cholesterol (as recommended by your physician).

  [Click here for more information about these and other tests.]

Special Health Issues

Heart Disease:
As the body ceases production of estrogen, a woman's risk of developing heart disease increases. Heart disease symptoms are different for women than men and sometimes go unrecognized.

American Heart Association

Breast Health:
Women should begin annual mammograms at age 40. Recent large-scale studies demonstrate that mammography has definite benefits as an early detection tool for women this age. Women also need to continue with monthly breast self-exams.

Southcoast Breast Health

Diabetes:
This disease, which affects the body's ability to produce insulin and thus control blood sugar , develops more frequently in women over age 40. Symptoms include increased thirst and urination, and increased itching of the skin.

American Diabetes Association

Incontinence:
Following childbirth and with the onset of menopause many women experience some symptoms of incontinence (loss of bladder or bowel control) due to changes or problems with the pelvic muscles. A number of successful treatments are available for this. Incontinence is extremely common, affecting about 25 percent of women age 30 to 59 and nearly half of women over age 65.
Menopause:
Women face many issues, including physical and emotional symptoms and health issues such as increased risk for heart disease and osteoporosis. Menopause stretches over several years, beginning with peri-menopause and occurring completely with the end of menstruation. Menopause usually begins during the mid to late 40s. Treatment and education are widely available to help women maintain good health throughout the menopausal years.

Menopause Online

National Institutes of Health: Menopause

Osteoporosis:
Women become more at risk for this disease after menopause. Osteoporosis involves loss of calcium in the bones, making them more porous and prone to fracture. Tests exist to measure bone density and determine extent of the disease.

National Institutes of Health: Osteoporosis & Related Bone Diseases - National Resource Center

National Osteoporosis Foundation

Caregiver Issues:
Many women during their mid-years face psychological, stress issues related to dealing with aging parents and other "sandwich generation" issues. Help is available in the form of education, counseling and support groups.
Thyroid Disease:
Thyroid disease affects women more frequently than men. Diseases may include hyperthyroidism (an over-active thyroid gland,) and hypo-thyroidism, which occurs when the gland becomes under-active. Each disease causes a range of symptoms. Testing and treatment for thyroid disease is available at all three hospital sites. Consult your doctor if you feel you may have thyroid problems.

Southcoast Services for Women in Their Middle Years

Mammography/Ultrasound
• Charlton Memorial Hospital Mammography Services
  Fall River, Mass.
  508-679-3131, ext.7117

• Southcoast Center for Women's Health
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-998-0600

• Tobey Hospital Breast Health Center
  Wareham, Mass.
  508-273-4141

• Linden Tree Health Center
  Portsmouth, R.I.
  1-401-683-4817
Post-mastectomy physical therapy services
• Southcoast Rehabilitation Women's Health Services
  Southcoast Center for Women's Health
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-998-0600

Stereotactic Breast Biopsies
Image-assisted breast biopsies done using a hollow needle. Used to help diagnose malignancies.
• St. Luke's Hospital Radiology Department
  New Bedford, Mass.
  508-999-2171

Diagnostic Days
If women have a suspected problem with a mammogram, she can schedule a "diagnostic day" at the Southcoast Center for Women's Health in North Dartmouth. This includes a full range of diagnostic testing along with consulation with a physician, all in the convenience of one visit.

For more information call the Southcoast Center for Women's Health at 508-998-0600.

Breast Cancer Support Groups
• The Oncology Center
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-979-5858

Cardiac Services
Diagnostic Testing including stress tests, thallium stress tests, echocardiography. For more information about these services, please check with your physician.
• Healthy Hearts
  1-800-497-1727
  Charlton Memorial Hospital
  St. Luke's Hospital
  HeartMates (Support group for spouses of cardiac patients)

Cardiac Rehab Services
A program of exercise rehabilitation and education for heart patients and their families.
• Charlton Memorial Hospital
  Fall River, Mass.
  508-679-3131 ext.7076

• St. Luke's Hospital
  New Bedford, Mass.
  508-997-1515 ext.2460

• Tobey Hospital
  Wareham, Mass.
  508-273-4170

Complementary Medicine
Southcoast offers information and services on a number of complementary medicine modalities including massage, aromatherapy, mind-body connection and other related care. Complementary Therapies are exactly as they sound - practices and treatments that focus on the connection between body, mind and spirit rather than solely on medical science. But they support and complement regular medical practices.
Diabetes Services
Southcoast Diabetes Management Program is a comprehensive series of classes designed to give adults and their families the knowledge to live a better life with diabetes. Education is offered in small group sessions or individually if necessary. The program addresses all aspects of diabetes self-management including meal planning, medication management, complications of diabetes and much more. Weekly Diabetes clinics at all three sites:
• Charlton Memorial Hospital
  Fall RIver, Mass.
  508-679-7143

• St. Luke's Hospital
  New Bedford, Mass.
  508-961-5430

• Tobey Hospital
  Wareham, Mass.
  508-273-4173

• Diabetes Support Group (in Fall River, New Bedford and Wareham)
  1-800-497-1727

• Monthly Diabetes Education programs
  508-679-7143

Incontinence Services
Offering evaluation and treatment for incontinence problems by a team of physicians, nurses and physical therapists. Evaluation usually involves a comprehensive history, exam, urodynamics study (a study examining bladder pressure and the presence of uncontrolled bladder contractions.) Sometimes a cystoscopy (a fiber optic exam of the bladder) is performed.

Treatment can include behavioral techniques and exercises, medication, and surgery.

• The Incontinence Center at Charlton Memorial Hospital
  (offering multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment)
  Fall River, Mass.
  508-679-7612

Southcoast Rehabilitation Women's Health Services
Providing physical therapy with individualized evaluation and treatment
• Southcoast Center for Women's Health
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-998-0600

Surgical Treatment
A number of surgical procedures can be used to treat incontinence, including collagen implants and other surgery. Most often, the procedures can be performed on an ambulatory basis and are available at Southcoast's three hospital sites. For more information, contact the Incontinence Center at Charlton Memorial Hospital, or talk to your physician.
Nutrition Counseling
For weight loss and other nutritional issues:
• Fall River, Mass.
  508-679-7056

• New Bedford, Mass.
  508-997-1515 Ext. 3050

• Wareham, Mass.
  508-273-4342

Osteoporosis
• Osteoporosis and Research Center at Charlton Memorial Hospital
  Offering a multidisciplinary evaluation for osteoporosis, including a full-body DEXA bone density test, to determine the extent of calcium loss in the bones. Fall River, Mass.
  508-679-7612

• Southcoast Center for Women's Health
  Offering DEXA bone density testing.
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-998-0600

Southcoast Rehabilitation Services
Providing physical therapy with individualized evaluation and treatment including fall prevention strategies to reduce the risk of injury from osteoporosis.
• Southcoast Center for Women's Health
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-998-0600

Education/Prevention Programs
• Women's Resource Center
  Southcoast Center for Women's Health
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-998-0600

• Family Education Center
  Tobey Hospital
  Wareham, Mass.
  508-273-4037

• Better Breather's Club
  St. Luke's Hospital
  New Bedford, Mass.
  1-800-497-1727

• Caregivers Support Group
  St. Luke's Hospital
  1-800-497-1727

• Cancer Support Groups
  The Oncology Center
  North Dartmouth, Mass.
  508-979-5858

• Bereavement Support Groups
  1-800-497-1727

A range of fitness, diet and other wellness services for women are also available at the Southcoast Wellness Center. For information, call 1-800-497-1727.