why one needs to have a yearly physical checkup

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I was saddened with the news that a cousin died last Saturday. She was diagnosed with brain tumor twelve years ago. She went to New York in 2007 for a brain surgery. She was only a few years older than me. The more sad part is her mom doesn’t know that she’s gone already. The family is planning to keep it a secret from Aunt M because she’s also sick. She already had two heart attacks.

This reminds me that I need to have a medical checkup. A physical exam depends on the age, sex and health of a person. 

Is a yearly physical exam really necessary? I read this on a WSJ (Wall Street Journal) article dated 8 January 2009.

Ned Calonge, a family doctor and chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, there is no study to show that the best way to deliver effective preventive services is through an annual physical. But, he said, there’s probably no harm in having one either. “A reasonable way for patients to approach preventive services is to ask their doctor what they need,” he told us.

But as the saying goes, Prevention is better than cure. It’s still better to be aware of a disease or an illness on its early stage. To stop it from spreading and to have more time in curing it.