Comments on: Women: Pawns in Health Care Debate?

By: admin

admin — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:12:03 +0000

Windroot,
Those who made these suggestions are on very dangerous ground. It sounds all too much about money, and all too little about women’s health. You are right; nothing is easy, especially the issues which should be.

By: Windroot

Windroot — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:00:05 +0000

I think the folks behind these recommendations are sincere and are just going where they see the data taking them. Two problems, with that.

First,the data changes all the time so patients are understandably confused. you could follow these new guidelines and then 10 years from now be told oops, shoulda stuck with the old ones.

Second, the minute I heard this the first thought I had was that the insurance companies would very quickly say no mammograms under 50.

Nothing’s easy.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:24:17 +0000

Dorothy S,
Your story is heart-wrenching. I am so glad you are here with us as a survivor. It is stories like yours which need to be told.

I did—at last—see an interview last night with Gloria Steinem, long time activist for women, talking about the confusing signals sent by the “Independent Panel.” It was an encouraging sign. She is a breast cancer survivor as well.

You do have a voice. Write about your experience on your blog. Get your story out there and perhaps email it to your Congressman and Senator. We came close to losing you. Thankfully we didn’t. Let us now think about other women who may be more at risk if proper time frames are not implemented.

Sometimes great trials can be channeled into positive action. I have faith in your ability to do that, and I will pray for your continued good health.

By: Dorothy Stahlnecker

Dorothy Stahlnecker — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:38:03 +0000

I guess your right. Where is the First Lady? Maybe we bloggers should be sending her some letters from us and speaking up on the Huffington Post which is where she got her start..from blogging.

I’m outraged as well and remember I am a Breast Cancer survivor. I missed a mammogram for a year and that second year is when it was diagnosed and then in Jan 08 I had further Ovarian Cancer chemo…and all the frills which go with it… This has got to stop and we are the wall which could make it happen. I hope someone puts a plan together including us bloggers and if they do I’m in..

Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com

By: admin

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:47:39 +0000

Tina T,
I guess that one of my concerns is, will whatever health care plan you’re in cover these tests if they are done outside the ‘guidelines”? And, I know two women over 50 who learned they had aggressive breast cancer after their yearly exam. It’s all a bit confusing and I don’t like being in the dark about it.

By: Tina T

Tina T — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:41:12 +0000

I have to admit that I was shocked to hear all this last week. My understanding is that for whatever reason the type of breast cancer often discovered in a woman’s forties is a particularly aggressive type which is why the recommendation started at forty for all women and a baseline at 35 for those with risk factors. This is why I don’t listen to the general recommendations from any organization, I tend to stick with what my doctor recommends. Of course if you don’t have a doctor that you trust it makes it very hard to know what to believe.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:26:28 +0000

Chris J,
That appears to be the appropriate question, doesn’t it.

By: ChrisJ

ChrisJ — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:13:37 +0000

I believe this has found its way to Canada, as well. One does wonder; is it a case of “follow the money” or good research?

By: admin

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:34:46 +0000

D,
Mrs. Obama should weigh in on this, I agree. As a woman who is a role model, she would certainly be heard.

The “voice of the people” includes women, last I checked. It is time for righteous outrage to be expressed. Where are the activists for women’s rights?

By: DorothyL

DorothyL — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:56:40 +0000

This is just another issue that wreaks of self-serving bureaucrats to me.

Do we not have enough women in the senate to ward off being ignored and/or undermined?
Where is the divine Lady Obama when we need her…instead of sporting $500.00 runners she should be worried about her breasts and the breasts of her own daughter…oh pardon me…they are more than likely above the law of being treated like a mere voter or citizen.

Do we have to do the topless march in front of the White House to make this point?…hm…maybe this is their plan..lol. Had to add a bit of humor to this very serious nightmare we are living in.

This is not a good thing. It seems as you mentioned in your post that we are going two steps forward and ten steps backward.

Sad times indeed!

By: admin

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:38:17 +0000

bluzdude,
Fabulous suggestion! Did you ever hear, “This is A Man’s World” by James Brown?

By: bluzdude

bluzdude — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:40:48 +0000

I think that if men had to have their cajones squeezed in a vice every year, they would have a pretty damned good set of data on every conceivable angle regarding the tests, and there would be very little gray area.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:09:46 +0000

One of The Guys,
You are right in that “false positives” are not sufficient reason to change the time frames. I don’t think anyone is clear on the intent of this message, but women’s lives are at risk. It is so refreshing to hear a man voice such concern. Thanks for weighing in.

By: ONE of THE GUYS

ONE of THE GUYS — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:46:37 +0000

I agree. Women, men…no one should be used as pawns.

What I heard was that an “independent” (yeah, right) study was done and they determined that having a mammogram before 50 gave too many false positives and increased anxiety. It’s unclear to me whether or not this drove the agenda on the health care bill. It seems a lot of people don’t have all the information, including me!

And coming from a family with a history of breast cancer, that doesn’t make sense to me. A little anxiety is sure better than finding out too late.