Health screening in your 60s and beyond

High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, usually does not have any obvious symptoms and is therefore known as a silent disease. Left untreated high blood pressure can increase your risk of heart disease, kidney disease, heart attack or stroke.

A simple blood pressure test is one of the easiest ways to check if you are at risk from high blood pressure.

The normal level of blood pressure is 120 over 80. If your blood pressure result is 140 over 90 or higher (or 140 over 80 if you have diabetes) then you should discuss this with your GP.

How do I check my blood pressure?

You have a few options:

• Visit your GP - check your cover for GP visits
• Book a HeartBeat cardiac screening, which takes 15 mins and also checks your BP (available to members aged 12+)
• Visit your local pharmacy

“Obesity is killing more people than Covid-19 although it’s not talked about as much”, Professor Carl Vaughan warns and we all need to take more heed and accountability to keeping our weight in check. Maintaining a healthy weight is important to reduce your risk of developing serious illnesses.

Ireland has one of the highest levels of obesity in Europe, with 56% of adults considered overweight and one in four (26%) obese (ref: Eurostat, 2019).

According to the Irish Cancer Society "after choosing not to smoke keeping a healthy weight is the most important way you can reduce your risk of cancer."

How do I check my BMI?

To check your BMI your weight and height will be recorded. BMI is defined as your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres (kg/m2). 

• Use a BMI calculator
• Book a HeartBeat cardiac screening, a 15 minute appointment which also checks your BMI (available to members aged 12+) 

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland with more than 13,000 new cases diagnosed every year.

There are two types of skin cancer - non-melanoma and melanoma. Non-melanoma is the most common type of skin cancer and melanoma, which is the most serious type of skin cancer, is less common with about 1,100 cases diagnosed every year here.

The good news is that if spotted early, up to 90 per cent of skin cancers can be cured. Therefore, it is recommended that you check your skin every month watching out for any abnormal changes.

(source: Irish Cancer Society)

How do I check my skin?

• DIY mole check at home; things to look out for on your skin include anything new that looks different, also known as the ugly duckling sign, something on your skin that is changing and continues to change or a cut that isn’t healing
• Visit your GP - check your cover for GP visits
• Mole mapping via a Consultant - check your cover

High cholesterol can put you at risk from heart attack and stroke therefore it is important to get your cholesterol levels checked regularly. 

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found in the blood and produced by the liver. Like blood pressure, high cholesterol does not have any symptoms so the only way to get it checked is with a blood test. 

There are two types of cholesterol HDL (also known as good cholesterol) and LDL (also known as bad cholesterol). If the level of LDL or bad cholesterol in your blood is too high, this increases your risk of heart attack and stroke. 

Cholesterol is one of the tests done as part of a lipid panel. A lipid panel test includes measurement of your total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and another fatty substance in your blood called triglycerides.

If your cholesterol level is too high your GP can advise on ways to lower it by exercise and diet, you also may need to take cholesterol-lowering medication.

How do I check my cholesterol?

• Visit your GP for a blood test (either a needle and syringe or a finger prick test) - check your cover for GP visits
• Use a cholesterol home testing kit

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. There are two types; Diabetes type 1 (your body doesn’t make insulin) and Type 2 (your body doesn’t use insulin well).  Although there’s no cure for diabetes, early detection via screening can help manage the disease and stay healthy.

Of the 250,000 people in Ireland living with Diabetes, the majority (75%) have Type 2 diabetes which can be a life-changing diagnosis. An unhealthy lifestyle and carrying excess weight pre-disposes the majority who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, but around 15% are pre-disposed to it.

How do I check if I have diabetes?

• Visit your GP. A simple blood test can screen for diabetes. Check your cover for GP visits.
• Do a risk assessment. Diabetes Ireland has a simple self risk assessment that is worth doing.

Women and people with a cervix should attend for regular cervical screening between the ages of 25 and 65. 

Cervical cancer is a devastating condition if not caught early enough. Every year in Ireland 300 people develop cervical cancer and it claims the life of 90 women here every year.

The good news is that by attending for regular cervical screening you can greatly reduce your risk of developing this deadly disease.

If you're aged between 30 and 65, you'll be screened every five years if you have no symptoms.

How do I book a cervical screening in my 60s?

• Ireland’s national cervical screening programme is called CervicalCheck and you should automatically be on the register if you are aged between 25 and 65 and have a PPS number.
• If you are on the register the CervicalCheck screening programme will write to you to let you know when your screening test is due. You can also check when your cervical screening is due online.
• If you are aged between 25 and 65 you can book a free cervical screening at your GP or a clinic registered with CervicalCheck when your test is due.

How often do I need a cervical screening?

• If you're aged between 30 and 65, you'll be screened every five years if you have no symptoms.

Bowel screening checks for early signs of bowel cancer.

According to BowelScreen; the HSE’s bowel screening programme, approximately 2,800 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in Ireland. Bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in men and the fourth most common in women.

According to the HSE, more than 90% of people with bowel cancer have one of the following combinations of symptoms:

• A persistent change in bowel habit. Going more often, with looser stools and sometimes stomach (abdominal) pain
• Blood in your poo especially if mixed through the stool. This makes it unlikely the cause is haemorrhoids (piles)
• Stomach pain, discomfort or bloating always brought on by eating. This can sometimes result in a reduction in the amount of food eaten and weight loss

These symptoms are common so they may also signal something else that is not cancer. If you have any of these symptoms it is recommended that you talk to your GP if they persist for more than 4 weeks.

The risk of bowel cancer increases with age.

How do I screen for bowel cancer in my 60s?

• HSE BowelScreen programme. The risk of bowel cancer increases with age and people aged between 60 and 69 are invited by the HSE to take a free at home bowel screen every two years. The HSE BowelScreen programme will send a test kit to you at home. Once you send the completed test back to the programme it will be checked for blood. If the level of blood in your stool is above a certain limit you will be invited for a colonoscopy.A colonoscopy is a more invasive test that is carried out under light sedation as a day case in a hospital. It involves taking preparatory medicines and diet instructions to clean out the bowel before the test. A biopsy may also be undertaken as part of the colonoscopy this is where small parts of the lining of your bowel is removed for closer examination in the lab. 
• Visit your GP - check your cover for GP visits

How often do I need a bowel screening?

• Every two years or if symptomatic.

Find out more about bowel screening

Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer in men (apart from skin cancer) and approximately 3,890 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Ireland every year. This means that 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. (Irish Cancer Society)

Increasing age is one of the main risk factors of prostate cancer and it mainly affects men over the age of 50.

Other risk factors include:

• Having a family history of the disease
• Being of African ethnicity

There is no national screening programme for prostate cancer in Ireland this is because prostate cancer is such a slow growing cancer and to date there is little evidence to suggest that routine screening of healthy men would reduce deaths from this disease.

The good news is that prostate cancer is curable when diagnosed early.

How do I screen for prostate cancer?

• Visit your GP (check your cover for GP visits). They will decide with you if you need to have a prostate assessment. As part of a prostate assessment your GP may carry out some tests including a PSA blood test. This test checks for the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) protein in your blood. If the level of PSA is raised this may be a sign of prostate cancer but it can also be a sign of something else that is not cancer like a urinary infection.
• Use a home testing kit (depending on your cover, laya healthcare members may be able to claim back part of the cost).

How often do I need a prostate cancer screening?

• On GP recommendation at annual/bi-annual check up

The risk of breast cancer increases as you age and is more common in women over the age of 50 therefore all women in Ireland are invited for a breast screen once they reach 50.

Breast screening helps to detect breast cancer at a very early stage. If found early breast cancer is easier to treat and your chances of surviving it are greatly increased.

How do I screen for breast cancer?

• Ireland’s national breast screening programme is called BreastCheck. Under the BreastCheck programme all women aged 50 to 69 are invited for a free mammography or x-ray of their breasts every two years. The appointment will only take about 30 minutes and it could save your life.
• Visit your GP. It is really important that you contact your GP if you notice any changes in your breasts or have any concerns about any breast cancer symptoms.
• No matter what your age it is a good idea to get into the habit of checking your breasts regularly for any changes. Check out this guide on how to check your breasts.

How often do I need a breast cancer screening?

• Every two years

How often should I check my breasts?

• Once a month

Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’, it is a disease that makes your bones brittle which significantly increases your risk of breaking a bone as a result of a minor fall. Osteopenia is the name given to the early stages of osteoporosis.

The risk of developing osteoporosis increases with age. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, one in three women, and one in five men over the age of 50 will be affected by a broken bone after the age of 50 due to osteoporosis.

How do I screen for osteoporosis?

• Visit your GP (check your cover for GP visits). They can check your Vitamin D levels with a simple blood test, and can refer you for a DXA scan if needed. A DXA scan can measure a person’s bone mineral density which tells the condition of their bone health.

How often do I need a bone mineral density (BMD) screening?

• Every two years. Every 1-2 years if confirmed osteoporosis or at risk of same.