Opt to Thrive…for Midlife Women
Opt to Thrive is a health and wellness podcast designed to support, educate, inspire, empower and motivate midlife women to live their healthiest, happiest most fulfilled lives. Motivated by her own life experiences and challenging midlife transition, Dr Corina Sims created Opt to Thrive.
Dr Sims is a rural GP Obstetrician and Menopause Specialist who has a passion for connecting with and empowering other women to be the best version of themselves. Disappointed with the vast amount of contradictory information targeted at menopausal women, Dr Sims also recognised the gap in medicine that has been identified around the globe in managing women going through it. Dr Dims strives to bring evidence based information to those who are searching for answers.
Listen in every week where on one week you’ll find either a short and sweet episode designed to uplift, inspire and give helpful tips to manage your mind and a longer episode the next created to educate and inform.
Opt to Thrive…for Midlife Women
Preventative Health for Midlife Women: Screening Tests That Actually Make a Difference
Happy New Year — and welcome to the first episode of the year! 🎉
As we step into a fresh new year, it’s the perfect time to think about preventative health, staying well, and making sure you’re up to date with the screening tests that genuinely help women live longer, healthier lives.
In today’s episode, I’m walking you through the big screening programs we have in Australia, what they’re designed to do, when they’re recommended — and where we don’t have screening (and why that matters).
This episode covers:
- ✔️ Cervical Screening Test — what changed, why it’s every 5 years, and when a self-collected swab is appropriate
- ✔️ Breast cancer screening & mammograms — who needs screening, how family history affects screening frequency, and why symptoms need investigation (not screening)
- ✔️ Bowel cancer screening & FOBT — why the starting age has lowered to 45, how the kit works, and why early detection saves lives
- ✔️ Ovarian cancer — why there is no effective screening test, what symptoms to be aware of, and when to investigate
- ✔️ The new Australian lung cancer screening program — who it applies to and how it works
You’ll also hear a little New Year life update from me — family time, fig harvest, French backpackers, and reflecting on a big year of growth personally and professionally 💛
My hope is that this episode helps you:
- understand what each screening test is actually trying to achieve
- know when screening applies vs when symptoms need investigation
- feel more confident asking questions and making informed choices about your health
👉 If you’re not sure what breast-cancer risk category you fall into, you can try the iPrevent risk calculator (Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre), then discuss your results with your GP
Let’s Stay Connected:
- Get your free Midlife Health & Body Reset Guide: Here
- Find out more about the Midlife Reset Program: Here
- Join the Opt to Thrive mailing list: Here
- Follow Dr. Corina on Instagram: @drcorinasimsopttothrive
- Connect on Facebook: Opt to Thrive (Dr Corina Sims)
- Opt to Thrive official website
If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and share it with a friend who may enjoy it too.🫶
