40+ screening planner (and balikbayan check-up planner)

Menopause is a good moment for a full check-up. Estrogen loss speeds up bone loss and shifts fat toward the belly, and heart and diabetes risk rise with age. PGH OB-GYN faculty also stressed check-ups to rule out cancer in women over 45 at the 2025 UP Manila symposium (UP Manila).

Many of these tests are affordable in the Philippines compared with abroad, which is why some OFWs and balikbayans plan their workups for home leave. One Filipina on r/adultingph described her mother abroad being quoted far more for a procedure and planning to come home for it (thread).

• Mammogram: ₱1,500 per exam (PGH); ₱2,000 to ₱3,500 per exam (Hi-Precision, Healthway); ₱3,500 to ₱5,500 per exam (Makati Med, The Medical City). Breast ultrasound, sometimes added: ₱1,400 per scan (Exact Check).
• Pap smear or HPV test: cervical screening; ask your OB which test and how often. Prices not yet in our list.
• Bone density (DXA): when risk factors or age suggest it. ₱2,400 per scan (Exact Check); ₱4,500 to ₱6,100 per scan (promo to regular) (Healthway). See bone density test.
• Blood pressure: at every visit, free at many health centers.
• Cholesterol (lipid profile): ₱520 per test (Exact Check).
• Diabetes screening (HbA1c): ₱475 per test (Exact Check).
• Thyroid (TSH), if you have symptoms: ₱490 per test (Exact Check). See perimenopause or thyroid.
• Transvaginal ultrasound, only if your doctor asks for it: ₱1,500 per scan (Exact Check).
• Consult to review results: ₱300 to ₱600 per visit (Government hospitals); ₱600 to ₱2,000 per visit (St. Luke's, Makati Med, TMC, Cardinal Santos, Healthway); teleconsult ₱699 per 15 min (Doctor Anywhere, Medifi).

Prices checked October 2026. Several prices come from secondary sources and are estimates; call ahead to confirm.

The planner suggests when each check is due based on your age and the date of your last test, using common international defaults. For example, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends a mammogram every 2 years from age 40 to 74 (2024), and bone density screening for all women 65 and older, or earlier after menopause if your fracture risk is raised (2025). Philippine DOH and POGS advice may differ, and your doctor may change these based on your family history and results. The planner does not order tests and cannot read results.

You can download reminders as a calendar file or add them to Google Calendar. Reminders say only "Health check reminder" unless you choose a custom label, so nothing private shows on your lock screen.

Pick your arrival and departure dates and the planner arranges your list into a realistic order:

1. Early in your trip: a consult (in person or by teleconsult before you fly) to get lab requests.
2. Fasting labs on one morning: lipids, HbA1c, thyroid if needed.
3. Imaging on another day: mammogram, DXA, ultrasound if requested.
4. A follow-up consult before you leave, so results do not wait for your next visit.

It also reminds you to bring your foreign records and current medicine list, and to ask for printed or emailed results. If you are continuing HRT while home, see our expat guide.

A breast lump, bleeding after menopause, chest pain or leg swelling should be seen soon, whatever the planner says is "due". Read bleeding after menopause.