There's nothing worse you can do for your health than to smoke and I would never describe a women who does so as being healthy. The most common but fortunately not the most deadly cancer in women is breast cancer. A woman should begin monthly self-breast exams in her twenties, receive her first mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40, and then yearly after forty. For many reasons, including preventing breast cancer, a woman should avoid a high alcohol intake. For the early detection of cervical cancer, a woman should have a Pap smear every one to three years beginning at age 18, or earlier if the young woman is sexually active.
Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in women.
Yearly rectal exams should be performed by your physician at your yearly check-up beginning at age forty to fifty. Sigmoidoscopy, a procedure done in the doctor's office that involves inserting a small tube through the rectum and into the colon is recommended to screen for colon cancer every three to five years beginning at age 50 to 55. Osteoporosis is the thinning and thereby weakening of the bones that often occurs in elderly women. Fractures of the hip and spine that may result are many times disabling and hasten a women's death. You can prevent osteoporosis by exercising regularly, taking calcium daily, not smoking, and limiting alcohol.