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 Colon cancer screening is potentially lifesaving and worth it… especially because 90% of colon cancers are preventable with routine screening and a healthy lifestyle. Yet, many women avoid screening due to misunderstandings or hesitations—so, here are 5 myths you can put to rest.
Myth 1: “I’m healthy, so I don’t need screening.” Even if you’re in great shape, colon cancer can develop silently. Most colon cancers start as small growths called polyps, which don’t usually cause symptoms. Regular screening can detect and remove these polyps before they turn cancerous. The earlier colon cancer is caught, the easier it is to treat—and the better your chances for a full recovery.
Veteran Fact: VA recommends that women Veterans start screening at age 45, even if you feel fine and have no symptoms. If you have risk factors like a family history of colon cancer, your VA health care provider may suggest starting earlier.
Myth 2: “Screening is embarrassing and uncomfortable.” We get it. No one looks forward to a medical test, especially a colonoscopy. But taking care of your health is not embarrassing. At VA, your comfort and dignity are our priorities. Your health care team will walk you through every step, answering questions and addressing concerns to ensure you feel safe and respected. Plus, you don’t always need a colonoscopy right away—some patients may be able to take at-home option called the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), which checks for hidden blood in your stool.
Veteran Fact: Talk with your VA provider about your risk and the appropriate screening method for you. VA will support you at every step.
Myth 3: “Colon cancer isn’t a concern for younger women.” While age is the biggest risk factor, colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women under 50. Risk factors like family history, obesity, drinking alcohol, smoking, and even your racial or ethnic background can increase your chances of developing it earlier.
Veteran Fact: Screening may not just be for older women. Women Veterans of all ages should discuss their risk factors with their VA provider to determine the right screening schedule and test.
Myth 4: “I’ll know if something’s wrong.” Colon cancer often develops without symptoms. By the time signs appear—such as blood in your stool, unexplained weight loss, or persistent abdominal pain—the cancer may already be advanced.
Veteran Fact: Regular screenings catch concerns early, often before symptoms arise. Early detection saves lives.
Myth 5: “Screening is painful.” Screening may feel uncomfortable, but anesthesia is used to minimize any discomfort. Your VA health care team will walk you through every step and answer any questions regarding preparation for the procedure, what happens during the screening, and recovery. Additionally, with the at-home FIT, screening could be a breeze!
Veteran Fact: Enduring a little discomfort through screening now could prevent major health concerns and distress in the future.
 Women Veterans 45 and Up: It's Time to Get Screened at VA
VA is committed to making colon cancer screening accessible and comfortable for women Veterans. Whether you’re ready for a colonoscopy or starting with a FIT, VA is here to help you take control of your health. Discuss your risk for colon cancer with your VA health care provider to determine the best timing and screening test for you. To learn more about screening at VA, visit the VA Women’s Health Colonoscopy page.
Need help getting started at VA? Call the Women Veterans Call Center (1-855-VA-WOMEN) to speak to a real person who can help you enroll, schedule an appointment, and connect you to care you can trust.
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Spot the signs of a scam
Searching for a new job can be exciting, but as more hiring and recruiting moves online, job scams have unfortunately become increasingly common. Fraudsters can pose as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other legitimate employers, create fake job postings, or request personal information under the guise of processing an application. Knowing how to spot the warning signs can help protect your time, money and personal information.
Here are a few key tips to help you stay safe during your job search.
Research the employer
Before applying or responding to a recruiter, take time to verify the organization.
- Visit the company’s official website directly (type the URL into your browser rather than clicking a link).
- Look for consistent branding, contact information and job listings that match the posting.
- Check reviews or confirm the organization exists through trusted sources.
If something feels off, like poor grammar, vague company details or inconsistent messaging, it’s worth pausing and investigating further.
Never pay to apply
Legitimate employers will never ask you to pay a fee to apply for a job, attend an interview or secure employment. Be cautious if you’re asked to:
- Pay for training materials.
- Purchase equipment upfront.
- Provide gift cards or cryptocurrency.
- Share bank information early in the process.
These are common red flags of a scam.
Protect Your personal information
Be mindful of what you share and when. Employers may request certain information later in the hiring process (such as Social Security Numbers for background checks), but this should only happen after a formal offer and through secure systems. Avoid sending sensitive personal details via unencrypted email or messaging apps.
Watch for unrealistic promises
If a job offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Warning signs include:
- Extremely high pay for minimal qualifications.
- Job offers without interviews.
- Pressure to act quickly or “secure your spot.”
- Communication only through text or private messaging apps.
Legitimate hiring processes take time and include formal interviews and documentation.
Use trusted job platforms
Stick to reputable job boards and official company websites. For example, federal jobs—including positions at VA—are posted on USAJOBS.gov and official VA Careers pages. Applying through trusted platforms reduces the risk of encountering fraudulent listings.
Job searching with confidence
By staying informed, verifying employers and protecting your personal information, you can focus on finding the right role with confidence. Get more job news and advice on VA Careers.
Veterans who suspect they have experienced fraud can find out more and report to the appropriate agency at VSAFE.gov or calling 833-38V-SAFE.
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Subscribe to VBA's newsletter
Want to stay up to date on what’s going on with us than get our newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Our monthly newsletter delivers directly to you information on updates to rulings, education and so much more!
It includes a list of the upcoming events and training to assist you in filing your claims, health care and financial readiness. Our goal is to provide you with information to help you maximize your benefits.
Tips to protect your benefits from claim predators!
 For Veterans, taking advantage of VA benefits after serving their country is crucial. Knowing how to apply securely through the VA claims process, where to find VA accredited attorneys, claims agents, and VSO representatives or verify accreditation before engaging with any individual or company is essential. You do not have to pay a fee to file an initial claim for benefits.
For more guidance on how to protect your benefits, please visit VA's fraud prevention page.
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Is it time to start moving your body more?
An active lifestyle decreases the risks of long-term health problems. Moving regularly decreases inflammation in the body which is at the center of many diseases.
Moving your body on a regular basis lowers your risk for some types of cancer, fatty liver disease, chronic pain, arthritis and even dementia. It also helps relieve anxiety and depression. Some comprehensive practices—which include movement, such as yoga, Tai Chi, and qigong—can also help you practice mindfulness and other skills.
Consider the results you’d like to focus on, such as improving strength, flexibility, balance, range of motion and the mind-body connection.
Moving your body doesn’t have to involve working out in a gym or joining a sports team—you can bike, walk, swim, garden, play a sport, or play with a child or an animal. You can exercise on your own or with a group, or whenever it works for you. Any activity is better than none; even a few minutes a day is beneficial. It’s important to choose activities that you enjoy because you’ll stick with them!
Many activities which include movement, such as yoga, Tai Chi, strength training, and aerobics, can be modified for people with limited mobility due to chronic pain or injury.
Veterans First by SofiaHealth
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 Built by Veterans for Veterans, the Veterans First platform provides access to a wide variety of live health and wellness classes for all who wish for a healthier and happier lifestyle. Virtual classes are available for all fitness levels. Take classes from work or from the comfort of your home.
Yoga
Yoga is a mind and body practice with origins in ancient Indian philosophy. The various styles of yoga typically combine physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation or relaxation.
Yoga benefit spotlight 📢
Better sleep: Practicing yoga regularly can help you fall asleep quicker, sleep for longer, and go back to sleep after waking up at night. In addition to yoga, people who practiced meditation, tai chi, and qigong experienced improved sleep.
More energy: Recent studies have shown that certain yoga poses reduce fatigue and increase the hormone, cortisol. Low levels of cortisol can zap your energy, leaving you rundown. Enjoying yoga regularly will help you maintain healthy cortisol levels.
Feel better: Yoga has been shown to lower stress hormones in our bodies while simultaneously increasing beneficial brain chemicals like endorphines and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). These feel-good chemicals help decrease anxiety and improve mood.
Tai Chi
Tai Chi is a mind-body exercise combining slow-flowing intentional movements with breathing, awareness, and visualization.
Rooted in the Asian traditions of martial arts, Chinese medicine and philosophy, Tai chi enhances relaxation, vitality, focus, posture,
balance, strength, flexibility, and mood.
Qigong
Qigong is an ancient Chinese healing art, older than, and similar to tai chi, with a focus on cultivating the body’s vital energy or qi. It
involves the coordination of the breath, posture, awareness, visualization and focused movements. Qigong may be a stationary or moving meditation.
 Available Classes
- Health & Wellness
- Yoga & Mindful Movement
- Tai Chi & Qigong
- Meditation & Guided Rest
Reported Benefits
- Improved Sleep, Heart Health, Focus
- Reduced Stress, Chronic Pain, Inflammation
- Decreased Anxiety, Depression, Chronic Fatigue
- Migraine Relief
Whole Health is VA’s approach to care that supports your health and well-being. It focuses on self-care, skill building and support.
Your Whole Health Team is pleased to support your journey to well-being.
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 There’s no one-size-fits-all path to feeding your baby, and you don’t have to travel it alone.
VA offers peer support groups, breastfeeding classes, postpartum mental health care, and supplies to help you thrive.
Connect with your maternity care coordinator to learn more.
There are Many Ways to Breastfeed Your Baby
Breastfeeding Classes
Practical skills to help you meet your breastfeeding goals.
Postpartum Mental Health Support
Taking care of baby starts with taking care of yourself.
Lactation Consultants
Personalized guidance and support.
Social Workers
Connection to local resources.
Maternity Care Coordinators
Coordination of care, referrals.
Support Groups
Lactation support groups with new mothers.
Supplies you may be eligible for:
- Breast pumps
- Nursing bras and pads
- Nipple cream and shields
- Milk storage bags
Breastfeeding benefits both babies and mothers.
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April Fool
In food speak, a “fool” is a quick English Dessert of cooked berries and whipped cream. Traditionalists make it with gooseberries, but strawberries and raspberries work fine. Its rich and lovely, and you don’t need a lot to end a meal with finesse.
Ingredients
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice, divided
- 3/4 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Whole berries for garnish
Directions
Put strawberries in a small saucepan. Add 1½ tablespoons of the granulated sugar substitute and 1½ teaspoons of the lemon juice. Cook on high just until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir frequently, mashing berries with a spatula, to keep from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. After about 15 minutes, most of the liquid should be cooked off. When you reach your desired consistency, let it cool and pour into a container to refrigerate.
To make raspberry sauce, combine raspberries, 1½ tablespoons of the sugar substitute and the remaining ½ teaspoon of lemon juice in a small sauce pan over high heat until it just starts to boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring frequently until thickened to desired consistency, then allow to cool slightly. Press mixture through a fine strainer. This will take patience and about 20 minutes of mashing, but you will be rewarded with a rich, seedless sauce. Discard seeds.
For each fool: Put 2 tablespoons of cooked strawberries at the bottom of a glass bowl. Whip the cream with the remaining tablespoon of sugar substitute. Put 2 tablespoons of whipped cream in each glass. Add 1 tablespoon of the seedless raspberry sauce. Top with more whipped cream. Garnish with whole berries.
Colorful Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
1.5 lbs of shredded chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken
1-15 oz can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1-15 oz can of diced tomatoes or 1 cup of chopped fresh tomato
2 TBSP olive or canola oil
1 chopped medium red onion
2 TBSP Red pepper sauce of choice (such as tabasco)
2 cups cooked rice (Cooked to package directions)
Directions
Prepare rice according to package directions. Drain the chicken, black beans, and tomatoes. As rice cooks, add olive oil to a small pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the chicken, black beans, and chopped tomatoes. Add Tabasco sauce (optional). Let it heat through. Serve with a side of rice.
Serves 4.
Nutritional information: Total carbohydrate: 35g per serving
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Women Veteran Book Corner
This month’s Center for Women Veterans Book Corner author is Coast Guard Veteran Nancy McIntosh, who served as both an enlisted small boat coxswain and an officer from 1977 to 1991. She wrote “The Flood Tide,” an historical novel set during the American Revolution and follows a boatbuilder father and his soldier son. Much of it is set on the Piscataqua River in southeastern New Hampshire where the author grew up as a fourteenth-generation American.
Can you share a brief background of your military experience?
I enlisted in 1977 following a very brief career as a middle school music teacher. Following basic training and A school, I was fortunate to be assigned to a small boat station on Cape Cod where I became one of the Coast Guard’s first female search and rescue coxswains. After three years, I was assigned to a 95-footer and helped out with the Mariel boat lift in the summer of 1980. OCS followed, and an assignment to USCGC Evergreen where we did tests of the “new” satellite navigation systems in the Arctic, along with iceberg drift studies.
A year as an intelligence analyst closed out my first full stint on active duty in 1984. In 1987, another fortunate billet came along, where I served as the Coast Guard coordinator for drug-air interdiction in Nassau Bahamas. I “fell” into this assignment as my husband was the CG liaison to the Bahamian government and I was already living in the Bahamas. OPBAT was a very successful coordination between the Bahamian Police and Coast Guard H3 helicopters.
What inspired you to write a book and share your story as a woman Veteran?
While this book is fiction, it is inspired by much of my time off the New England seacoast and also my time in service. The book will, I hope, challenge people to look at the history and sacrifices that were made by our ancestors.
How has your military background influenced your writing style?
If you have “been there, done that,” the dialog and action flow easily from the pen. Folks who have been to sea in foul weather in a small craft will identify fully.
How do you hope your book will impact other women Veterans, active duty service members and the general public?
I would hope that it would inspire service and willingness to sacrifice, whether it is under arms or in other ways that protect our nation and improve our humanity.
What role do you think storytelling and literature play in fostering understanding and support for the women Veteran’s community?
I think a good story can always make people sit up and listen or be moved to find their own way to serve. Placing ourselves in the protagonist’s shoes opens our minds to other ways of viewing reality.
Are there any fellow women Veteran authors or books that have inspired or resonated with you? If so, could you tell us a bit about them?
“Breaking Ice and Breaking Glass,” by Vice Admiral Sandra Stosz, USCG ret. Although she served over a decade after me, many of her experiences as a woman in the Coast Guard rang true, both the good and the bad.
How do you believe the Women Veterans Book Corner can help bring awareness to the civilian and military communities, particularly about women Veterans?
As a female Veteran (granted, an old one), I have often been frustrated trying to express my view of “what it was like.” More books and more voices expressing lived experience make that job easier.
What advice do you have for other women Veterans or active duty service members who may be considering writing about their experiences?
Just do it. Don’t rush it. If it is a memoir, write things down and stick them in a file until the “time” comes. You’ll know when you’re ready. If it’s fiction, dwell with your characters for as long as it takes until you can clearly hear your own voice in them. The truth of your service will find a way out even if you don’t know it’s happening.
How has writing this book helped you?
Fiction can be a tremendous way to reflect truth. Sometimes it helps you recognize truth. I am sure it is very different for every writer. This is my first book. The next one has many things to teach me.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects or events you’re involved in that our audience might be interested in?
I am thinking about another novel, science fiction set in close-earth orbit. Basically, Coast Guard in Space. It may be a hoot.
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Golden retrievers, St. Bernards and Schnauzers, oh my! You don’t need to follow the yellow brick road to find these furry friends; you just need to visit the Boise VA Regional Office on “Furapy” day. For one hour each month, employees can enjoy the stress-reducing benefits of dog therapy at the office. |
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These are no ordinary cuddly canines. They are rigorously trained by nonprofit Go Team Therapy Dogs. Beyond basic obedience and socialization skills, each dog must pass an American Kennel Club Good Citizen test and a temperament assessment before entering GO Team’s intensive, real-life training program so they’ll have the calm, stable demeanor needed for unpredictable public environments.
And the commitment doesn’t end there. The dogs and their handlers complete annual recertification to keep their skills sharp and adaptable.
Katherine Howard, a change management agent, first met the tail-wagging therapists during a VA outreach event where she spent time with Lacie, a gentle Golden Retriever who loves snuggling and eating ice cubes. Howard talked with the handler about the power of dog therapy.
Inspired by the experience, Howard saw how therapy dogs could help her office.
“My aim as the change management agent is to always seek ways to boost morale and create the best work environment possible,” says Howard.
With support from Lacie’s handler and the Boise RO director, they launched the Furapy program two years ago, bringing certified therapy dogs on-site for an hour each month. Employees can brush, pet or just relax with the dogs in a calm, low-pressure environment.
For Tonya Erhardt-Spencer, Furapy has an immediate effect.
“I can feel the tension leaving my body as I pet and talk to the dogs, and the joy of interacting with these fur babies lasts far beyond the few short minutes we spend with them. I am not overstating when I say that the excitement and energy is palpable all day when we get Furapy visits. It is a major morale boost.”
The science behind the therapy
When we pet a dog, our bodies release oxytocin, the hormone that helps us feel calm, connected and more at ease. That boost of oxytocin can lower stress, slow our heart rate and help us feel more grounded.
Petting a dog can trigger increases in dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and prolactin, chemicals tied to happiness, pain relief and emotional balance. Just a few minutes with a dog can make a big impact.
David “Max” Maxwell has witnessed the positive effects of the program on his staff’s productivity and mental acuity.
“Furapy dogs provide a level of calmness and refocus to our staff to be able to serve our Veterans better,” he says.
Howard says many of the employees are Veterans themselves, often seeing their own experiences reflected in the claims they handle. The pace and volume of processing Veteran claims is challenging as well.
“Sometimes work can build up and you don’t realize how much stress you’re carrying, says Danika Rhodes, a management analyst. “Getting to spend time with these sweet animals provides a sense of calm and relief that you might not even realize you needed! For me, Furapy is like a refreshing reset. Once I’m done hanging out with the dogs, I feel rested and ready for the day."
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Come to our New Veteran Orientation Held Monthly at Ernest Childers Outpatient Clinic in Tulsa.
Are you new to VA health care? Are you a current VA patient, but want to learn more about what services and benefits VA has to offer and how to obtain them?
Join Us For New Veteran Orientation
When: The 2nd Thursday of every month
Where: Ernest Childers VA Clinic 8921 S. Mingo Rd. Tulsa, OK 74113 2nd floor, Rooms 2008 - 2010 (across from optometry)
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Open to all Veterans, family members, caregivers, and community partners.
- Meet representatives from various departments within the VA
- Learn about the processes for getting things done at the VA
- Learn about and sign up for My HealtheVet
- Question and answer session
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 Check out our back-issues for more Women Veterans resources and popular topics.
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