Personal health is one of the most important issues anyone has to deal with. Proper nutrition, regular medical check-ups and sensible exercise are important for everyone's health.

First up for women concerning specific health checks ups is the annual gynecological exam, which includes your pap test. Gynecologist William Rincon explains, "If you're less than 20, you've never had sex, then you don't need to come in until you're 20 years of age. But if you've had sex early, as soon as you begin to have sex, they need to come in and begin having a yearly exam."

Dr. Rincon says "If you've had a hysterectomy and there's no other conditions wrong then they recommend that you come every 2 years for your pap smear."

Radiologist Mary Kay Peterson says that there's also an exam that women should be doing every month that doesn't require a doctor and that's a monthly self-breast exam. But that's not to replace the first mammogram you'll need starting at age 40 for most women. If there's no first degree relative who's been diagnosed with breast cancer. "If there's a first degree relative, we find out the age of the diagnosis of that first degree relative and the baseline mammogram should then be 10 years younger than that age."

The bottom line is though it might sound complicated, your best tool is using common sense. By learning to listen to your body and listen to your physician, we can all live longer, happier lives.

And to prevent the number one killer in women-heart disease, all women should get their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked and also be tested for diabetes.