ROAD TO HEALTHY LIVING is published as a community
service for the friends and patrons of KERN MEDICAL
CENTER HEALTH PLAN, 1700 Mount Vernon Ave.,
Bakersfield, CA 93306.
Information in ROAD TO HEALTHY LIVING comes from a
wide range of medical experts. If you have any concerns
or questions about specific content that may affect your
health, please contact your health care provider.
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888-498-1942
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WHN29075
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healthy
road to
living
Explaining pain to your provider
P
ain can be a mystery. at’s
why you’ll want to tell your
provider all there is to know
about how you feel. Some tips that
can help:
Keep a pain diary.
Write down
everything about your pain, such
as:
What makes it worse or better.
How long it lasts.
Colorectal cancer:
Screening saves lives
What cures you have tried.
Bring the diary to each visit with
your provider.
Be speci c.
Show your provider
where you hurt. Describe the pain.
You might use words like:
»
Dull.
»
Sharp.
»
Burning.
»
robbing.
»
Shooting.
»
Stabbing.
Have you had other pain like
this? It might help to compare your
pain to that pain. For example, it
might feel like a toothache.
Tell your provider how it
a ects your:
»
Mood.
»
Work.
»
Sleep.
»
Sex life.
Ask about medicines.
ere
are many types of medicine used
to treat pain. Ask your provider
which ones could help and what
their side e ects might be.
T
here are many ways to stay
in good health as you get
older.
Screening for colorectal cancer is
one of them. at’s because getting
tested could save your life.
Testing can help nd early signs
of this serious disease. en it can
usually be treated.
Colorectal cancer starts in
the colon or rectum. Without
treatment, it can spread to other
parts of the body.
TAKE ACTION.
Call
Member Services to find out
what screenings are covered.
It’s most common after age 50.
You are also at higher risk if you:
Smoke.
Have family members who have
had the disease.
It’s possible to have this kind of
cancer and not know it. It doesn’t
always have symptoms.
But if there are symptoms, they
may include:
Blood in your stool.
Stomachaches that don’t
go away.
Weight loss for no
reason.
Once you turn 50,
you should be tested.
But you may need to get tested
before then. For example, you may
need to get tested if someone in
your family has had the disease.
ere are di erent kinds of
screening tests. Some, like stool
tests, you can do at home. Others
must be done at a clinic or
hospital. For those tests, a doctor
looks inside your colon.
Some tests are done
every one to two years.
Others are done every
5 to 10 years.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
staying healthy
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