Annual Visit

One of the best ways to stay proactive with your health is by visiting our office regularly for recommended physical exams, tests and screenings. These annual or semi-annual visits allow Dr. Marilyn Kutzscher to better understand your unique baseline health so she can identify subtle changes in your physical or mental health and possibly diagnose illnesses or conditions quicker. Dr. Kutzscher will assess your medical history and risk factors for disease and let you know how often she recommends you come in for visits.

In general, this is the schedule we recommended for healthy individuals:

• Adults age 18-40: physical exams every other year
• Adults age 40+: annual physical exams
• Women age 21+: Pelvic exam annually and pap testing every 3 years to detect cervical cancer
• Women age 45+: mammogram every 1-2 years
• Men age 50+: prostate cancer screening
• Adults age 50-75: colorectal cancer screening

Keep in mind that this is a very general timeframe. If you have a family history of disease or any type of underlying health issues or have a family history of disease, Dr. Kutzscher will want to see you more often to monitor your condition.

Communication is Key

One of the most important steps of Dr. Kutzscher’s exams is communication. It’s important that you freely share information about your physical and mental health. Even seemingly minor things could help her diagnose conditions early. In addition to describing aches or pains, headaches or migraines, difficulty breathing, skin disorders, etc., don’t feel embarrassed to share feelings of depression, anxiety, hopelessness, etc. We want to ensure that your entire mind/body connection is in sync.

Possible Tests During Physical Exams

Dr. Kutzscher may recommend different tests to assess your risk of:

• Preventable illness (immunizations)
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes (if your blood pressure is 140/80 mm Hg or higher, if you are overweight or if you have a family history of diabetes)
• Obesity
• Breast cancer (mammograms)
• Colon cancer (colonoscopy)
• Osteoporosis (bone density)
• Depression
• Pregnancy (birth control)
• Cervical cancer (Pap test)
• Prostate cancer
• Lung cancer

Any time you are experiencing physical discomfort or psychological problems, even if it is outside our recommended annual exam schedule, we urge you to schedule a physical in San Francisco with Dr. Kutzscher.