Health screenings every woman needs by age
Most women are offered a blood pressure check from 18, cervical screening from 21, cholesterol and diabetes checks in midlife, mammograms from 40, colorectal screening from 45 and a bone density scan by 65. Your history can move these earlier. Write your own calendar with the last date of each, and ask your clinician at every visit which checks are due next.
Why it matters: A written calendar beats memory, and the recommended checks change as you age.
Steps
- Write a list of the screenings in the national preventive guidance for your age band; the health screenings by age guide on this site has one.
- Find the date of your last check for each one in your patient portal or old paperwork.
- Mark each as done, due or not sure.
- Add your family history, since a close relative's diagnosis can mean starting earlier.
- Book the ones that are due, or ask at your next visit which apply to you.
- Record each new date on your safety and admin card or in a calendar reminder.
- Review the list on your birthday each year.
Stop and call a professional if
- you have any new symptom, such as a lump, bleeding between periods or after menopause, or a change in bowel habits: book a visit now rather than waiting for a screening date
- a close relative was diagnosed young with breast, ovarian, colon or heart disease: ask whether you should start screening earlier
Questions to ask the professional
- Which screenings am I due for this year, and which can wait?
- Does my family history change when I should start any of them?
- How will I get my results, and what happens if one is abnormal?
Common mistakes
- Assuming a yearly visit automatically includes every screening.
- Waiting for a reminder letter that never arrives after a move or an insurance change.
- Skipping a screening because you feel well; screenings exist to find problems before symptoms.
- Treating an online list as a diagnosis or a reason to delay care for a symptom.
Outside the US or in another state: This follows US national preventive guidance. Other countries run national screening programs with different starting ages and intervals; ask your clinician or national health service.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: Health screenings every woman needs by age
What to say
Most women are offered a blood pressure check from 18, cervical screening from 21, cholesterol and diabetes checks in midlife, mammograms from 40, colorectal screening from 45 and a bone density scan by 65. Your history can move these earlier. Write your own calendar with the last date of each, and ask your clinician at every visit which checks are due next.
What to show
- Write a list of the screenings in the national preventive guidance for your age band; the health screenings by age guide on this site has one.
- Find the date of your last check for each one in your patient portal or old paperwork.
- Mark each as done, due or not sure.
- Add your family history, since a close relative's diagnosis can mean starting earlier.
- Book the ones that are due, or ask at your next visit which apply to you.
- Record each new date on your safety and admin card or in a calendar reminder.
- Review the list on your birthday each year.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you have any new symptom, such as a lump, bleeding between periods or after menopause, or a change in bowel habits: book a visit now rather than waiting for a screening date.
Check question
You feel completely well. Why book a screening anyway?
Answer: Screenings look for problems before symptoms appear. A screening's value is finding something early, while you still feel fine.
Your checklist
Saved only in this browser.
Quick quiz
Three questions. Your score is saved only in this browser.
Related skills
Sources
- US national preventive screening recommendations for adults, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .