She Looks After Everyone. Who’s Looking After Her?
Many women can tell you exactly when their child is due for their next vaccination, when their mother’s repeat prescription needs collecting, or when their partner has a follow-up appointment. But ask them when they last had their own Pap smear or mammogram, and the answer is often far less certain.
It’s not because they don’t care about their own health. More often, it’s because they’re the ones keeping track of everyone else’s.
In many South African families, women become the unofficial health managers of the household. They remember appointments, organise check-ups, refill prescriptions, and make sure children, partners and ageing parents get the care they need. It’s a role that usually isn’t planned or discussed. It simply develops over time, one appointment at a time, until it becomes part of everyday life.
The problem is that while everyone else’s health is being carefully managed, no one is keeping track of theirs. Preventive screenings and routine check-ups are easy to postpone when there are more urgent demands on their time, and without someone reminding them, those appointments can quietly slip further and further down the priority list.
Here’s a quick guide to the checks that are often overlooked, and why each one is worth putting back on the list.
The pap smear that keeps moving to “next month”
South Africa has set a national cervical cancer screening target of 70% coverage. However, actual participation rates among eligible women are significantly lower than this target in most studies, and even more so in certain high-risk clinical settings. While arranging a pap smear is straightforward and the procedure itself is quick, it often gets postponed due to busy schedules. This is especially true since early cervical changes usually do not present symptoms that would prompt immediate attention.
The mammogram screening that’s booked “once things calm down”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among South African women, and it often goes unnoticed because there are usually no warning signs until it is too late. Ironically, the person who can easily recall when her mother’s next mammogram is scheduled often feels less certain about her own screening. The phrase “Once things calm down” tends to stretch into next year, and then the year after that.
The checks with nothing to feel until there’s something to feel
Bone density and cardiovascular risks, such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels, often rank low on most women’s health priorities. This is because these risks often show no daily noticeable symptoms until a fracture or a heart-related event brings the issue to light. These health checks are often the least urgent on the list, and tend to be postponed for the longest time, precisely because they don’t feel pressing until a significant problem arises.
The mental load with no checkup of its own
Physical screenings are not the only concerns that go overlooked. Research from the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) found that more than half of employed South Africans live with a mental health condition, most commonly burnout, depression or anxiety. However, fewer than half feel they can trust their managers to discuss such personal issues. For women who are already carrying the household’s caregiving responsibilities alongside their jobs, this reluctance to share often means their struggles go unvoiced for much longer.
Making it easier to put yourself on the list
Telling women to “make time” for their own health often misses the point. For someone already juggling children’s appointments, ageing parents’ medication and a family’s endless to-do list, finding more time isn’t always realistic.
What can make a real difference is making preventive healthcare simpler and more accessible, so routine screenings fit into everyday life instead of becoming another task that’s easy to postpone.
That’s the thinking behind some of Medshield’s benefits. Mammograms are covered annually from age 30, recognising that regular screening can play an important role in detecting breast cancer as early as possible. Pap smears and contraception are included under the Wellness Benefit, without the need for additional motivation.
Routine health checks can also be more convenient. A Health Risk Assessment, which measures blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and body mass index (BMI), can be done at a network pharmacy or through a network GP, rather than requiring a specialist visit. For women with a health concern, whether physical or emotional, Virtual Care GP consultations offer a convenient way to speak to a doctor from home, often in as little as 20 minutes.
Ultimately, the goal isn’t to ask women to do more. It’s to remove some of the barriers that make it so easy to put themselves last. Because the person who spends so much time looking after everyone else deserves healthcare that’s just as easy to access when it’s finally her turn.
This consumer article is for educational purposes only and does not provide personal medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider with questions about a medical condition and never disregard or delay professional medical advice because of something you read here.
