Free preventive health checks for women aged 60 and over in Lithuania

Which VLK programmes still cover you at 60

Age decides which of the five disease prevention programmes run by Valstybinė ligonių kasa (VLK), the National Health Insurance Fund, still apply to a woman. From age 60, two of them continue (at 60 itself, the cardiovascular programme also still applies): breast cancer screening, which covers ages 45 to 74 inclusive, and bowel cancer screening, which covers ages 50 to 74 inclusive. Both are free for insured people and are arranged through the šeimos gydytojas (family doctor).

Programmes that stop applying by age

Tests the family doctor may add

These are not part of the two screening programmes above. The šeimos gydytojas may order them where there are indications, and the decision is the doctor's.

• Blood glucose: the glucose level in blood helps the family doctor assess whether a person belongs to the high cardiovascular risk group.
• Cholesterol: total blood cholesterol is one of the values used to assess the likelihood of cardiovascular disease; in older people the test is often recommended to be repeated every year.
• Triglycerides: the triglyceride level adds to the cholesterol values when cardiovascular risk is assessed, and belongs to the same group of blood tests as glucose and cholesterol.
• TSH: the TSH test shows whether the thyroid is working normally; in older age the symptoms of thyroid disorders (tiredness, weight changes, changes in heart rhythm) can be faint, so the doctor takes this value into account more often.
• Vitamin D: ordered when a deficiency is suspected, where there is bone or muscle pain or weakness, or factors that limit sun exposure or absorption from food, which is more common in older age.
• Bone density scan (densitometry): measures bone density and helps to spot bone thinning before a fracture happens; it is most often considered for women after the menopause because of the increased risk of osteoporosis.

How to get the checks

• Contact your šeimos gydytojas (family doctor), who assesses your health and issues the referral.
• With the referral, book an appointment at a healthcare institution that has a contract with Valstybinė ligonių kasa (VLK).
• The results of the mammogram and other tests are given to you by the šeimos gydytojas, once they arrive from the institution that carried out the test.

What a screening result means

Neither the mammogram nor the faecal occult blood test confirms a diagnosis on its own. A positive or unclear result is grounds for further investigation by a specialist, not a diagnosis in itself. A positive faecal occult blood test shows that there is blood in the stool, which can have various causes; a colonoscopy then establishes the exact cause.

When to contact a doctor between screening rounds

The Lithuanian page this translation is based on lists the following as reasons to contact the šeimos gydytojas without waiting for the next screening round. This list is not part of the VLK programme descriptions.

• Blood in the stool, black stools, or an unexpected change in bowel habit between checks.
• A new lump in the breast, a change in the skin or shape of the breast, or discharge from the nipple.
• Chest pain, pressure, severe shortness of breath, or an unexpected loss of strength.
• Unexpected weight loss, long-lasting tiredness, or bone pain.

If chest pain or pressure, or severe shortness of breath, comes on suddenly, call 112, the emergency number in Lithuania, instead of waiting for an appointment.