Most women realize the importance of monthly breast self-exams but it's hard to sort through the maze of other screenings. An Omaha woman knows that it pays to find the answers.

Work and family kept Colleen DiCola busy but errands aren't what they used to be.

"It's wonderful being able to drive again," she says.

The very things that kept DiCola busy went away overnight. She finally went to her doctor for an annual exam after skipping two years in a row.

"I missed them, you know, for a hundred different reasons," she says. "It was very busy Colleen. She didn't have time those two years."

Dr. Patty Langan, a family physician with Alegent Health, found a lump: breast cancer that had spread. DiCola calls it a life-saving catch.

Colleen says, "I probably would have -- I don't know where I'd be right now."

The discovery highlights the importance of mammograms now recommended at 35 in order to get a baseline and every year from 40 on. But that's just one of the screenings needed.

Dr. Langan adds that, among other things, "Bone density screens are important."

That's where Dr. Langan and other family physicians come in. Building a relationship with a doctor gives us a chance to understand what screenings we need and why.

Dr. Langan says, "We have great screening procedures, great medicines to prevent stroke and cardiac arrest and patients need to access us, access their health care provider to get that information."

After a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, Colleen DiCola has been cancer-free for a year. Even something as simple as shopping for a birthday card now means more. She's around to celebrate her youngest son's birthday and she wants all of us to remember why

"So I'm saying to everyone; co-workers; friends; family members; push, nag, do whatever you have to do to get them to their annual appointments."

Your doctor's help is critical to maintaining good health but there are other crucial health care measures that are in your hands on a daily basis. These items are everyday lifestyle choices you make. For a list of the key considerations, click here for a Word document or click here for the Web page version. That one is also available by clicking the "Healthy Living Checklist" in the right column. You can print either version and keep it with your medical papers. You can also email the Web page to someone.

Know Your Screening Schedule

To download a "Know Your Numbers" chart that you can print and keep, click here for the pdf file.

Bergan Mercy Medical Center	Immanuel Medical Center
Lakeside Hospital	Midlands Hospital
Mercy Hospital	Alegent Health Clinic