Tag Archives: Central Phoenix

Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does, Part 17: Primary Care Services

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doctorWelcome to the latest installment of “Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does,” a series on Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s blog that highlights Planned Parenthood’s diverse array of services — the ones Jon Kyl never knew about.

The following guest post comes to us via Morganne Rosenhaus, community engagement coordinator for Planned Parenthood Arizona.

Feeling a little under the weather with a sore throat, aches, and stuffy nose? In need of a medical professional to tell you what the rash all over your arms might be or help you make a plan to stop smoking? These are the moments when you visit a primary care physician, right?

Planned Parenthood Arizona now provides primary care, a necessary service for the community.

Well, what happens when you can’t find a primary care physician in your area or you find one but he or she isn’t taking any new patients? What happens if you don’t have insurance to cover the visit in the first place? You might get some over-the-counter medication to help with the stuffy nose, you might go to the hospital because that rash is not looking any better, but emergency department visits can be expensive. Or maybe you don’t do anything at all.

Starting this month, you have another option. Planned Parenthood Arizona will be offering primary care services at our Central Phoenix location. Continue reading →

Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does, Part 12: Colposcopy

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Welcome to the latest installment of “Over 90 Percent of What Planned Parenthood Does,” a series on Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s blog that highlights Planned Parenthood’s diverse array of services — the ones Jon Kyl doesn’t know about.

When talking about Pap tests — particularly when discussing abnormal Pap results — one procedure that comes up a lot is the colposcopy.

It can sound intimidating and clinical on its own. And if you’re anything like me, you may have — ahem — occasionally confused it with the significantly more internal colonoscopy. For the sake of everyone’s anxiety levels, it may be best to set the record straight.

What is a colposcopy, and what should you expect from the procedure?

Why am I getting a colposcopy?

The most common reason for undergoing a colposcopy is having an abnormal Pap test result, particularly one that, when tested for DNA of human papillomavirus, yielded a positive result. Effectively, there are some abnormal cervical cells with HPV present. Because this could potentially progress to cervical cancer down the line, this combination makes health care providers want to get a closer look at what’s going on.

That said, colposcopies are sometimes performed for other reasons, such as genital warts on the cervix, cervicitis (inflamed cervix), or benign cervical polyps. Continue reading →