Don’t Skip That Checkup: Why Annual Exams Can Save Your Life

Take a page from Damon Wayans Sr.’s story and why early detection—and access to care—is important for everyone.

Each year, many Americans skip their annual checkup with a doctor. Life is busy, costs add up, and when you feel fine, a doctor visit may seem unnecessary. But feeling fine doesn’t always mean you’re healthy, and missing early signs can lead to serious health crises.

Damon Wayans Sr., a comedian and star of In Living Color, was 47 when a medical emergency brought him to the hospital with signs of a diabetic coma. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on the spot and had to start insulin, change his diet, and exercise regularly to stabilize his condition.

Now 65, Wayans manages his diabetes by growing his own vegetables, lifting weights, and monitoring his blood sugar.

Conditions like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure are often called silent killers because they develop slowly, with few or no symptoms, yet they silently damage your heart, kidneys, nerves, and eyes over the years. Routine annual exams can detect these conditions early when treatment is most effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 8.7 million Americans have undiagnosed diabetes, and nearly one in three adults with high blood pressure doesn’t know they have it.

Despite the need, access to preventive care is difficult for some groups. Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to have chronic diseases like diabetes due to barriers such as lack of insurance, limited access to care close to home, language differences, and inflexible work hours.

Along with reminders for annual checkups, addressing these gaps among higher-risk groups is important to ensuring our communities stay healthy.

If you haven’t had your checkup this year, make an appointment with a Jackson Medical Group primary care doctor. To learn more, click here.

Brian Solis, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons