Ladies, we know your lives get busy.  So why not pull out your calendar or smartphone right now and see if you’re due for a visit to your health care providers?  You’ll be doing your part for National Women’s Checkup Day (observed today, Monday, May 14th), an annual event that’s part of National Women’s Health Week.

Checkup Day encourages women to get regular checkups that are vital to the early detection of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, mental illnesses, sexually transmitted infections and other conditions.  The reason is simple.  Women often serve as the caregivers for their partners, children and parents. As a result, their own well-being can be secondary at times.  The theme of National Women’s Health Week 2012 – “It’s Your Time” – speaks to the fact that women need to prioritize their own health as well.

Not sure what preventative screenings are recommended for you?  Check out this handy chart organized by age group.  Then take the Checkup Day pledge along with women around the country to get at least one recommended screening during May. If you’re concerned about cost, you should know that all recommended preventative screenings – such as mammograms, colon cancer screenings, Pap screenings and well-woman visits – are now covered by your insurance plan with no out-of-pocket costs.

But scheduling an appointment may just be the first step.  If you’re looking to get healthy in 2012, why not do it with the help of a community?  The 2012 WOMAN Challenge offers an online platform for tracking your nutrition goals and daily activity.  The challenge is to follow through with planned nutrition changes and be active 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week, for six out of eight weeks.  Register here to get started.

If you’re a woman living with a health condition, you can also find a community of women right here at PatientsLikeMe.  We have 70,995 female members who are sharing how they are managing more than 1,000 different conditions, including fibromyalgia, endometriosis, menopause, infertility and postpartum depression.  Take control of your condition with the help of women just like you today.

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month, which means it’s a good time to brush up on this common women’s health problem.  For example, did you know that endometriosis gets its name from endometrium (en-doh-MEE-tree-um), the tissue that lines the uterus?  Or that this often painful condition occurs when that tissue begins to grow in other places, such as on the ovaries, fallopian tubes and pelvic cavity lining?  In rare cases, endometrial tissue has even been found in places like the lungs and brain.

More than five million women in the US have endometriosis.  It’s most common in women in their 30s and 40s, but it can occur in any teen or woman who has menstrual periods.  Symptoms include painful menstrual cramps, chronic lower back or pelvic pain, pain during or after sex, intestinal pain, infertility and painful bowel movements and/or urination during menstrual periods.  Interestingly, pain levels don’t align with the amount of endometriosis, though.  Some women have severe pain with only a few small growths.

The cause of endometriosis is unknown, but research shows a link between endometriosis and several other chronic conditions, including multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and lupus.  Endometriosis also appears to run in families, suggesting that it may be carried in the genes or that some families have traits that make them more likely to get it.  In other mysteries, scientists have not yet pinpointed how endometrial tissue travels through the body, although there are several theories.

Despite the unknowns, there are many things you can learn from the 400+ women who report endometriosis at PatientsLikeMe.  How are they coping?  Some commonly reported treatments include a conventional hysterectomy, laparoscopic hysterectomy, Seasonique (a birth control pill that produces four periods a year), Mirena (an IUD contraceptive device) and the prescription drug Lepron Depot.  Click on each treatment to see how others evaluate the effectiveness, side effects, cost and more.  And if you yourself have endometriosis, share your experiences and connect other women like you today.