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Month: August 2026

The three checks every woman should have on her radar

Posted on by Nathan Onias

There’s rarely a single moment where all your screening comes up at once. A reminder text here, a form you meant to fill in there, a conversation you keep meaning to have with your GP. Before long it’s been a year, or longer, and you’re not entirely sure what’s actually up to date.

This month we’re bringing three of the most important checks for women together in one place: breast, cervical and bowel. None of them need to feel daunting, and you don’t need to have all three on your mind at once. Our team can check what’s due for you in a couple of minutes.

Breast

Getting to know what’s normal for you is the first step, so anything new (a lump, a change in shape, skin puckering, nipple changes) stands out and gets checked. One in seven Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, which is exactly why regular checks matter, not because something is wrong, but because catching changes early gives you the most options.

Depending on your age and risk factors, this might mean a free two-yearly mammogram through BreastScreen Australia, or a clinical breast check with your GP. If you’re not sure which applies to you, that’s a completely normal question to bring to your next appointment.

Cervical

Cervical screening has changed a lot over the past few years, and a lot of women are still working from an outdated picture of what’s involved. The cervical screening test now only needs to happen every five years for most women aged 25 to 74, and self-collection is now an option for many people, meaning you can take your own sample in a private area of the clinic rather than needing a traditional exam.

If it’s been a while (or you’ve never had one), there’s no judgement here. Our nurses can talk you through exactly what to expect before you book.

Bowel

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program sends a free home test kit in the mail every two years to eligible Australians. It’s quick, it’s done in your own bathroom, and it’s linked to a real reduction in the risk of dying from bowel cancer. If yours has gone missing, expired, or you’ve just never quite gotten around to it, our nurses can help you order a replacement or talk through how it works.

Bringing it together

None of these checks require you to already have a symptom or a specific worry. “I’d like to check what screening I’m due for” is a completely reasonable reason to book an appointment, and our GPs are used to covering more than one of these in the same conversation.

While you’re catching up on your own health this month, it’s also worth mentioning to us if anyone in the family is behind on a flu or shingles vaccination before winter fully wraps up. It’s an easy add-on to any appointment.

Book a time with your GP at your local Atticus Health clinic to check what’s due.

Driven By Soul

Is it time to reject the traditional expectation of “middle age”?

Posted on by Nathan Onias

There I was standing in the isle at Victoria Market. Stalls either side. Belts, wallets and jeans. Today it was jeans.

“He’s a big boy,” the old lady exclaimed as she put her measuring tape around my waist. Yes, I think I was about 12 years old and my waist was 90cm. Mum stood and nodded proudly since coming from India being a “big boy” was considered a measure of “healthiness”. I remember it well because I didn’t know what I felt. Of course, when I hit high school I found many reasons not to be a big boy anymore and battled hard to lose weight.

Moving along, I remember whilst I was working at Carrum, I was sitting at my desk and my patient looked at me and said, “Doc, I can see you’re putting on weight. You know I left my last doctor because they got fat and I couldn’t take them seriously anymore. They simply weren’t walking the talk.” In a humble and practical way, I accepted what my patient had to say. How could I tell patients to do as I say, not as I do? It would be akin to telling them to quit smoking when I smelled like cigarettes.

So, for all of us, it’s really a question of what we accept as normal or not. Wherever that line is drawn, we need to challenge any thinking that may be limiting or that writes off our own power to adjust things. A common one is to accept limitations in the context of “getting old”. At any stage of life, there will be things you can change and there’ll be things you can’t. That’s for each of us to consider and decide. And with that said – here goes …

Posture

It’s a powerful thing to maintain an upright posture for as long as you can. Of course, everyone at one stage or another was reminded to “stand up straight”, but it’s not just for the aesthetic benefit that it’s worth doing. Bad posture is related to neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, hand issues, back pain and headaches. These could also find their origin in poor posture. Recently I read an article in The Age newspaper which talked about this. It was helpful. It challenged the commonly held notion that poor posture just happens over time. And equally that it can be corrected by simply pulling your shoulders back and reminding yourself to stand straight. Rather it’s a matter and consequence of maintaining adequate muscle function and strength around your neck, back and shoulders that keeps your posture from deteriorating. Without going into details about the exercises themselves, I’d encourage you to take that as a challenge, and see how much you can improve your posture throughout your life.

“Middle-aged spread”

Now here I accept that there are many reasons the body biologically tends to put on weight as we age. Menopause, other changes to our metabolism and even what we can physically do all have inputs. For example, if you have painful knees, it’s hard to walk as much as you once would. Nevertheless, the idea that we all “fill out” as we age is simply not there to accept as a fundamental truth in and of itself. I’ve heard that myself, “Yes Floyd, you’ll find you’ll ‘fill out’ down the track”. I reckon that’s very self-limiting and may even ‘grants’ me the right to become overweight as I age.

So, coming back to this, I am thankful to that patient who challenged me to not to put on too much weight. And for my dad who used to pull me up often to say, “Stop slouching,” (although he didn’t quite tell me how beyond standing straight). And I’d put it to you that rejecting these poorly conceived ideas of “normal ageing” will pave the way to a more empowered view of your health.

Once again, everyone’s got their individual situation, and we’re here to understand that situation to help change what we can, accepting sometimes there’s surely things we can’t change. But draw that line carefully, with a fine-tipped pen.