One of the health issues that concerns me is hormone replacement therapy. I have had a total hysterectomy and have been on a hormone patch for 9 years. I still get hot flashes and some moodiness even being on the patch. My concern is everything I read about how it can cause you to have a stroke to breast cancer. My mom had a stroke in her 50's and her doctor said it was a combination of the hrt's and her smoking. I've tried to stay off hrt, but the hot flashes and moodiness get extremely bad. So, until I can either wing myself off the patch or they come up with something that doesn't have such side effects, I'm stuck with the patch.
I interviewed a 66 year old white female and her concern for women's health was weight. She is concerned with her weight and said that she felt most women are more concerned than men. She feels she cannot do certain exercisesand that makes her feel like a failure. Not only does she have the stress of being overweight, but she also has low self-esteem because of it. She said that even shopping for clothes makes her uncomfortable because she's worried what the sales people might be thinking.
I talked with a 37 year old white female and she was concerned with osteoporosis. She said she would like to live to be in her 90's but has a fear of getting this disease and being debilitated. Osteoporosis is more common in women due to lack of bone loss. Even though exercising helps retain bone, there is no way of avoiding getting osteoporosis.
My third interview was with a 31 year old hispanic female. Her concern is with the lack of money alot of hispanic women have to go get check-ups. Most hispanic women do not have insurance so they will not seek medical attention when they need to. By the time they do get to the doctor or hospital, then they may have more health problems than if they went when they first starting getting sick.
I believe that if women also feel like they do have to be responsible for their families so they put their own health issues aside in order to make sure their families are taken care of.
