The Seasons of a Woman's Life:
Autumn: Ages 51-65

Ovaries stop producing the hormone estrogen at some time during your 40s or 50s, and you will stop menstruating a stage of life called menopause. The average age of menopause is 51, but it can happen from ages 40 to 55. The onset of menopause, and other physical changes, plus life-changing events that happen as we age, allow for a variety of clinical conditions to occur.

There are many conditions that require clinical care by a physician or other healthcare professional. Listed in the directory below are some of the conditions that may be of concern for the Autumn age group.

If you cannot find the condition in which you are interested, please visit the Women's Health Online Resources page in this Web site for an Internet/World Wide Web address that may contain additional information on that subhead. The top health priorities for the Autumn age group are:

Have regular medical checkups Watch your weight Exercise regularly Examine your breasts every month Have regular mammograms Be aware of heart disease: the number-one killer of women Learn about menopause Learn about osteoporosis Estrogen replacement therapy Bone density testing Test annually for colon cancer Be aware of the warning signs of skin cancer