Mammograms
petra_gw
18 years ago
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thirdfrt
18 years agopetra_gw
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Diagnostic Mammogram - Update
Comments (17)Pammyfay -- I've been reading about the 3-D (employs tomography?). This was billed as a 'diagnostic' mammogram. I think it's just a more highly defined image than the 'regular' mammogram. I had to have a doctor's order for the diagnostic. I don't know if the 3-D is even offered within the hospital/medical conglomerate where I am a customer...er, patient. I'm for anything that will cut down on all the false positives. Frankly, I was thrilled to have an all-clear called on *any* mammogram. It has happened so rarely in my life -- all false positives. I sat beside two beautifully groomed ladies in the waiting area at the hospital. After listening to them speak what sounded like a foreign language for a few minutes, I realized they were English! They were from Manchester, and the mother was over for a visit with her daughter. We surmounted the 'language barrier' for a nice chat. I said I thought this whole mammogram thing was overkill for women with no personal or genetic history of breast cancer. The mother said she hadn't had a check required for six years. This isn't a routine annual test in the UK, and is not suggested at all once a woman with no history or presenting problem is over seventy....See MoreMammograms
Comments (13)I'm almost 74, with a long history of annual mammograms -- and the false positives and the biopsies chasing the false positives. I have also always had good health insurance to PAY for this. I have no family history of any cancer, and I'm going to die of *something* because that's what people do. There are so many other 'somethings* that I don't see the logic of focusing on an inconclusive test that finds a 'possible' cancer in my breast. (Where is the test for ovarian cancer -- which is probably going to be a much more accurate and simple blood test?) Because everyone with a detected abnormality gets treated, we don't know how many women's immune systems would have eliminated a breast abnormality without intervention, as does happen in non-human studies. Those human 'cancer survivors' are unknown, and intervention gets credited with 'saving lives', even as we see some eventual poor outcomes *due to the interventions*. I know *some* women benefit from mammography, but do you think *you* need a mammogram? A little test: Would you pay out of pocket for one? Remember when you could buy life insurance at the airport, payable in the event you died in a plane crash? When studies showed how *unlikely* that was, the sales vanished. How many women have mammographies year after year, solely because they are afraid?...See MoreA long, hard look at mammograms
Comments (75)I've only read the article posted. Was she making the kind of claim that leads to a suit? Not just sharing her pain about the cancer? That whole celebrity thing of my problems will help people? I thought she did go to her regular physician, too. That the emergency room was about the pain so bad it needed urgent attention that happened four times because her regular doctors didn't find anything wrong, but maybe I misread it? Whichever, there's a big difference between a proper discharge of "take this for the pain and see your physician Monday morning", or "we're going to have to send you to a specialist", and "you're fine, you're just fat", no matter who said it to her. In the US, at least, emergency rooms are also for a lot more than strokes, heart attacks and traumas. It's for broken bones, major cuts and burns, etc. Too many people also go there because they have no other access to health care, but that's changing with the new insurance structure. I had a small wound on my thumb that wouldn't stop bleeding on a weekend, and which was beyond my knowledge of first aid. I heard them in the emergency room (small hospital, not a trauma center) arguing over who would have to treat it because it was boring. The guy who did had to be reminded that it had to be cleaned first. He had some sticky stuff I'd never heard of that gives the clot something to form on. He could have just handed it to me and let me do it myself and the result would have been better. I've been to the major hospital emergency room recently with elderly relatives, and they have a much better culture, and were fairly compassionate and quite able. There's more to medicine than racking up interesting cases however....See MoreSpeaking of mammograms--what does this mean?
Comments (7)I think preventative and diagnostic mammograms are different. I think the diagnostic ones are when a physician thinks there's a problem, while the preventative ones are just screening. It could be something as simple as the diagnostic ones no longer being covered as a preventative service, and so they will be subject to the deductible when previously they weren't. Preventative screenings should still be covered fully but I would definitely call and ask. My more cynical side thinks this is the beginning of Trump dismantling anything with Obama's name on it at the cost of the health of Americans. We will slowly see protections revoked, coverage decreased and premiums increased....See MorePeaBee4
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