Yesterday I was made to feel guilty, once again, at the hospital where I was having my annual exams. In my family, because the history of breast cancer, our annual check-ups are not routine. I get a mammogram but I also get an annual sonogram for both breasts, as well as a pelvic sonogram.
I don’t do it for fun. I don’t do it because I enjoy sitting in a hospital gown in a cold room for hours while I wait for each test. I don’t go through this because I want to have breast cancer or because I am trying to "fake" breast cancer. My doctor and I agree that these tests are needed because of my family history and my personal history.
But I am not kidding when I tell you that I was asked by the hospital staff—-NO LESS THAN SIX TIMES YESTERDAY AFTERNOON—–if I was "having a problem". I was questioned by the nurses and technicians why I was having such "extensive" tests done for an annual exam!
I go through this every year and sometimes every 6 months. I have to explain to each nurse, technician and doctor that we have a very extensive and long history of breast cancer in my family COMBINED with the fact that at 44 years old, I have had SIX (yes, 6) breast biopsies that removed non-cancerous tumors. I have to explain all this EVEN THOUGH IT IS ON THE ORDER FROM MY OBGYN FOR THE TESTS.
It is annoying and I really hate it how I am made to feel "guilty" and in some cases PARANOID because of the steps that my doctor and I take to ensure that we catch any breast cancer or ovarian cancer before it spreads. I realize that some of the people that ask are asking out of curiosity. But some are asking because it is out of the "norm". I feel a definite "push back" from the medical community when I bring my previous x-ray reports to my x-ray appointments. My sister and I BOTH do this to give the doctors help and give them the most current information they review our latest tests.
You would think that this would be met with positive results but most of the time my actions are met with suspicion and irritation. My OBGYN is awesome and gives me great support. But do any of you have experience with this type of behavior from doctors, nurses and medical experts? Maybe I am going to the wrong places? I’d love to know what you think.
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{ 11 comments }
It is such a shame that people think they have a right to an opinion concerning YOUR health. Keep pushing and give a high five to yourself, your sister, and your OB because the ealier you detect (God forbid) the better off you are. And to those people that think it’s their business, why don’t you ask to see their medical file:)
Tell the busy bodies that “My dr ordered it”. The rest of it is none of their business! The decision was made between you and your dr, and that’s all that counts.
I was dx’d with breast cancer in May ‘06, at 36 years old. Don’t let anyone pooh-pooh you or make you feel guilty for being proactive about YOUR health!
Hang in there and keep going for those screenings. If you and your doctor agree that you need the tests, the others can say anything they want, and it shouldn’t matter.
Get the screenings. Do the self exams. An annoying day in the hospital every 6 months sure beats weekly chemo, daily radiation, surgery, and whatever else they throw at you.
You know this. I’m hoping it’s easier on you next time!
And people say we have no health care crisis in this country. I beg to differ.
TP
Thanks for the comments guys. Having people “question” me for my tests sure as hell beats cancer. But it blows my mind sometimes because all they have to do is look at my chart and see…but I guess everyone is a sum of their experiences. Thanks for helping me remember I am NOT crazy and to keep on pushing on.
To Kelly:
Were you refused by your insurance company? I am assuming that was the case. If yes, you have two options:
1) You can see if the gyn and surgeon would write a letter to the insurance company explaining you are a high-risk candidate. Of course, this could work against you as well because they may view “high-risk” poorly.
2) You can pay for it out of your pocket. My mammogram was around $300 including the radiologist reading. You can call the local hospital/imaging center and ask them what the cost is just be sure to also ask about the physician fees.
My insurance did not cover my mammogram IN FULL because I am only 38, however, they did apply it toward my deductible AND the hospital took off the discount they negotiated with my insurance.
This topic really burns me up because the U.S. is the worst country to promote wellness/preventative medicine. I guarantee if folks were encouraged, and insurance companies would cover it, more would take care of themselves better. Instead, we wait until we are practically in the morgue before doing anything!
turn their asses in! you should Not have to put up with their shit!
My mother had breast cancer. At the urging of her surgeon and doctor I tried to have a mammogram.
And was refused.
Because I was 28. I can’t have it until I am at least 40.
And this was in the same year as 2 high profile young women in Australia DIED from breast cancer in their early 20’s. I do very thorough self exams in the meantime….
My mother and my aunt both had breast cancer (I have no sisters). Their cancers were the types not to show on mammograms, so my gyn. and the radiologist both order mammos and ultrasounds for me every year. I get some of those same questions and try to think that the technicians are wanting to be sure they are extra careful to check problem areas.
If you were faking breast cancer, you’d be telling people you had to miss work for your chemo. (I worked with somebody who faked breast cancer and then faked that it went to her eye, which was the reason she had bruises there, not an eyelift.) Anyway. If you’re faking, you’re not trying to get checked out. As long as you’re getting the kind of care and diagnostics you need, take a book, a sweater and figure that maybe your answers will help educate them so they don’t make the next person like you or me feel bad.
It beats having cancer.
When I went for my baseline mammogram in late 2006, the radiologist saw something on my film–a small, deep lump. My OB-GYN blew it off (you’re too young, no real family history, etc.) so I blew her off and, of my own accord, scheduled an appointment with a surgeon who specializes in breast cancer. Luckily I was working at our local hospital at the time so I knew who to call.
The surgeon, a female, was awesome and didn’t make me feel silly at all for being concerned. She said since it was my first mammo, it probably was something that had been there for a long time (a cyst) BUT regardless, she examined me, looked at my films, sent me back for an ultrasound in 6 months, another mammogram in 6 months and had me come back to see her after each. The result? The area actually shrank over the year and confirmed her initial diagnosis BUT I felt much better knowing it was nothing than wondering if it was something.
All that said, there are sh*tty medical professionals and great medical professionals, but at the end of the day, YOU AND ONLY YOU have the responsibility for your health. If you are not pleased with one doctor, move on. If staff questions you, tell them that is personal information you don’t wish to share.
In defense of medical professionals, I will say that I believe the high volume/low pay/super diseased world we live in has worn many of them down however I think it is not unreasonable to expect another human, regardless of the initials after their name, to treat another human being with some level of courtesy and respect, especially when the other person is naked, literally and figuratively, in front of you.
I will say that whenever possible, I will choose a female physician. Having worked with docs in all specialties, all ages, both sexes and different levels of education and compentency, I feel that female physicians are usually more compassionate and are willing to listen to you more than male docs.
So, to sum up my long answer, yes, I have seen and experienced this “push back” but I say shove ‘em back as good as they give!
Yeah. I get it in both directions–when I refuse testing (the triple-screen during Maeve’s pregnancy) and when I show up for more than they think I should require–that would be the EEGs and MRI to see if I was epileptic, well, more the three retests on the EEGs–my neurologist ordered them, NOT ME. So don’t eye me suspiciously and say that some people fake seizures for attention. Cause that isn’t helpful.
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