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PSA: Please learn from Elizabeth Edwards untimely passing

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ennui

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Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, went in for a mastectomy the day after the election. Larry King interviewed her when she released her first book, "Saving Graces." In her talk she admitted that it had been 6-7 years since she had had a mammogram.

If she had been getting regular mammograms, they would have caught the cancer so much earlier. She might still be around, her children wouldn't be burying their momma.


Pick up the phone & make an appointment for a mammogram if you are due or overdue for one. You owe it to yourself & to the people you love.

​
 
http://www.liv.com/free_mammograms.php

The United States Government’s National Cancer Institute can direct you to a local resource for low-cost mammograms. Call them toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). Be ready with your zip code. http://www.cancer.gov/

The American Cancer Society. Go to cancer.org, find the blue box on the upper right (“Find ACS in Your Communityâ€), enter your zip code, and it’ll direct you to your local ACS office. They can tell you what resources are available in your area. Or call the ACS toll-free: 1-800-ACS-2345.




The American Breast Cancer Foundation’s Key to Life Breast Cancer Screening Assistance Program provides financial assistance to uninsured and underinsured women and men of all ages for breast cancer testing. Call their toll-free enrollment hotline, 877-Key-2-Life (877-539-2543).




Finally, try calling your local hospital. Ask to speak to a social worker. He or she will be the one who’ll know about the availability of low-cost cancer screenings and/or special campaigns in your community.
 
My worry is that what if you have the mammogram and they find something. We do not have insurance so now it would be a pre-existing condition and I wouldn't be able to get help for it anyway. I feel like I should just wait until we have insurance and then go for the exam. The problem is, I have no idea when that day will come that we can afford insurance again.
 
You are right! I have had the referral since May. Always too busy. I will call today. Thank you!
 
crabbe3897 said:
My worry is that what if you have the mammogram and they find something. We do not have insurance so now it would be a pre-existing condition and I wouldn't be able to get help for it anyway. I feel like I should just wait until we have insurance and then go for the exam. The problem is, I have no idea when that day will come that we can afford insurance again.
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Yeah, that's what I figured this thread was about. Mammograms.

Here's a real PSA, and just one of hundreds I could offer:
http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/mammography/ijhs_mammography.htm
 
My sister was 37 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and my primary doctor has always insisted that I should get a mammogram as soon as I was able (I was nursing when she first suggested it), as a baseline mammogram. I'm 31. The mammogram is scheduled for late next week. I still have mixed feelings about the risks vs benefits, and the worst of it is that my insurance doesn't really cover any preventive care, and I know there's no chance it would cover this because I'm not in the age bracket where mammograms are recommended.
 
I turned 36 this year and had my 1st baseline mammogram done earlier this year. I hung onto the script too for almost a year because there was a part of me that was scared they would find something and didn't know what to expect. Luckily it was normal and I don't think I need to get another one until I turn 40. I am one of those people who doesn't really like doctors and check ups and all that stuff, but after losing my mom to cancer at 62, I've learned to just suck it up and do what needs to be done even though it may sometimes be unpleasant ...
 
Cecropia said:
My sister was 37 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and my primary doctor has always insisted that I should get a mammogram as soon as I was able (I was nursing when she first suggested it), as a baseline mammogram. I'm 31. The mammogram is scheduled for late next week. I still have mixed feelings about the risks vs benefits, and the worst of it is that my insurance doesn't really cover any preventive care, and I know there's no chance it would cover this because I'm not in the age bracket where mammograms are recommended.
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I think it's mandatory in Illinois that for people who are insured, mammograms are covered 100% by insurance now. This law took effect a few months after I paid 20% OOP for my first one (at age 32).
 
Thanks for the memo ennui.

I called today and have my scheduled for Mon @ 10am. And yes, my last one was last year Dec 05. I am 40 and will have one yearly from now on....
 
crabbe3897 said:
My worry is that what if you have the mammogram and they find something. We do not have insurance so now it would be a pre-existing condition and I wouldn't be able to get help for it anyway. I feel like I should just wait until we have insurance and then go for the exam. The problem is, I have no idea when that day will come that we can afford insurance again.
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Just what happened to me. It had been years and years since my baseline one. Never had another one and when I did they did find something and I have no insurance. BUT what they found was at a very early stage "zero" had the surgery and radiation and yes I owe everyone lots and lots of $$$ but it's now gone.

Don't wait ladies...please get it done.
 
summermay said:
Just what happened to me. It had been years and years since my baseline one. Never had another one and when I did they did find something and I have no insurance. BUT what they found was at a very early stage "zero" had the surgery and radiation and yes I owe everyone lots and lots of $$$ but it's now gone.

Don't wait ladies...please get it done.
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So, do they (doctors & hospitals) still treat you without insurance and then wait for payment when it is all over with? Just curious. Breast cancer runs in my family and I hate to wait but having no money/insurance scares me. I am 43 and have never had one yet at all. I worked for a criminal defense attorney years ago and we defended a lady with a horror story of mammograms (I won't go into it because no one will go for one again). And BTW, I'm so happy that you are done with your treatments and praying for you and your family still. I think about you often.
 
Ultimately, there's nothing I can really do to help any of you see things more clearly. Fear is a powerful thing, and fear kills the drive to learn.

It's your lives to live anyway, but it still saddens me that so many people fall prey to dangerous, and utterly useless alleged preventives such as mammograms.

Vapid stats are put forth that say things like, "a woman is twice as likely to develop breast cancer if they have a first-degree relative with breast cancer when compared to a woman without the same family history".

Wow, that sounds like something big. Not.

If there's 1 woman out of 100 that has breast cancer while no first-degree relative has breast cancer, then the above stat means that 2 women out of 100 may develop breast cancer when those 2 women do have a first-degree relative that has breast cancer.

Utterly underwhelming.

Hereditary breast cancer is RARE!

Wanna know at least one thing known to cause breast cancer? .... medical radiation.

I mentioned earlier having "hundreds" of truly useful PSAs, and here's just one more:
http://www.amazon.com/Preventing-Breast-Cancer-Preventable-Disease/dp/0932682960/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
 
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