7 steps to good gynecological health

Many women have a hard time talking about problems "down there," but poor gynecological health can trigger a myriad of health concerns. It can interfere with your sex life, cause unnecessary pain and increase your risk of developing a serious disease such as cancer.

The three most common gynecological cancers -- ovarian, cervical and uterine -- accounted for almost 10 per cent of estimated new cases of cancer for women in 2005, according to Canadian Cancer Statistics 2005, a publication produced in part by the Canadian Cancer Society. Of those 7,150 cases, 37 per cent, or 2,660 women, will die from the disease.

Accept and respect your body
The most important thing you can do for your gynecological health is to know and respect your body. "I am always saddened when I have a patient who is about to have a Pap smear and she says, 'Oh, I really feel sorry for you for having to do this, it must be so unpleasant and so disgusting,'" says Dr. Jennifer Blake, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. "I wish all women could have a positive, respectful feeling about their reproduction system and their sexual organs. They are an important part of us, they are a healthy part of us and they need to be treated well."

Blake offers these seven tips to good gynecological health:

1. Get your annual gynecological checkup and regular Pap tests, which can help detect abnormal cells early, thereby lowering your risk of cervical cancer.

2. Practice safe sex. More than 20 sexually transmitted diseases have been identified. The most common include Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which destroys the body's ability to fight infection and increases susceptibility to disease and cancers; Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs), which increase the risk of developing cervical cancer; and gonorrhea, which could cause pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility.