CBS News
Your guide to preventative health screenings for each decade, from your 20s to your 60s
Making a plan for preventative care and screenings is a great way to put your health first. Whether it’s keeping up with recommended vaccines or scheduling screening tests to detect potential problems early, there are different guidelines to stay on top of at different ages throughout your life.
“If everyone followed our preventative health screenings, we would catch disease earlier. We would be able to treat it and be more successful,” Dr. Robert M. Biernbaum, chief medical officer for WellNow Urgent Care, told CBS News. “Instead of seeing end stage breast cancer, end stage colon cancer, we would catch them at a younger age and they would have a better outcome. So prevention is the key to being healthy.”
To help you navigate, CBS News HealthWatch has compiled a series of guides to outline the preventative screenings experts say should be on your list, whether you’re in your 20s, over 60, or anywhere in between. Click on your age group below to learn more.
In your 20s
It’s never too early to start thinking about your health, and our first guide focuses on young adults in their 20s. From basic vaccinations to STI screenings to mental health check-ins, this guide outlines the steps 20-somethings can take to set a good foundation for health and wellness.
In your 30s
Your 30s are all about keeping up with routine checks you started in your 20s and introducing a few more to look out for your health in your next decade.
In your 40s
Your 40s bring on some additional health tests and screenings to consider, including recommendations for mammograms, colorectal cancer screening and heart health checks.
In your 50s
In your 50s, experts advise keeping up with routine checks and also introduce a few additional recommendations, including screening some in this age group for lung cancer and prostate cancer.
In your 60s
In your 60s, there are some additional vaccines and booster shots to protect against illnesses that can be more severe with age, and several more screenings are recommended to help detect disease early for better odds of successful treatment.
This guide is based on guidelines from health organizations and experts for people at average risk. Age and frequency of screenings may differ for individuals based on family history and personal risk factors. This does not take the place of your personal doctor’s recommendations for your health.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.