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Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:40 am  |
I called some old friends who live in another state today to wish them a HNY and to find out when they're coming east, since they usually do this time of year. I was suprised when I heard HIS voice - I was certain that I had called HER cell phone.
I asked him why the hell he was answering her phone and his voice broke.... Shaking my head. He told me that a friend of theirs had recently opened a hi-tech health screening center and convinced them to come in for a free screening. They took him up on the offer even though both of them are young, healthy, etc.
When they did, there was a suspicious spot on my friend's lung. It was suspicious enough that her doc decided a needle biopsy was in order. With 48 hours, she was in surgery. The malignancy wasn't in the form of a tumor, which apparently is the best kind of lung cancer if you're going to get lung cancer, but was the type that invades the lining of the lung. They removed one of her lungs in its entirety.
Her prognosis is good, but she still has to undergo respiratory therapy to strengthen her remaining lung and, because this particular type of cancer is highly invasive and has a tendency to metastasize, she will also undergo a full course of chemotherapy. She has a long road ahead of her, but she's otherwise very healthy and she's one tough chiclet.
The fact that she went in for a screening was purely to humor this friend of theirs and try out his fancy new equipment. She was COMPLETELY asymptomatic - in fact, she was training for a half marathon. She's never smoked in her life.
When we both turned 40, and started going in for annual mammograms, we both joked about how it made us paranoid about breast cancer. It got worse when another friend of ours was diagnosed with VERY aggressive breast cancer and, sadly, didn't win her fight against it. But, something like THIS - shaking my head - never in a million years !!!
I think it really indicates how important health screening and early detection is. It's just criminal that in a country like the USA, with all that we have, that this isn't done as a matter of routine for all of us. As it is now, even people who are fortunate enough to have decent health insurance (and most Americans do not) will find that their health insurance will NOT pay for this kind of thing.
I'm just so shaken by this! Thank goodness she took this guy up on his offer. I don't want to think about what would have happened if she had not. |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:23 pm |
Oh Katee my heart goes out to you and your friend. She's only 40  I used to sell pharmaceuticals, and I remember 1 doc telling me that there may never be a cure for cancer b/c EACH type of cancer if different. And I find it HIGHLY frustrating the most insurance cos will pay tens of thousands of $$$ to keep patients alive on life support even tho those pts won't have any quality of life, but the balk at paying for PREVENTIVE care  It's a**backward if you ask me. Sorry for the strong feelings on this one 
Hope everyone here is healthy |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:28 pm |
| Katee i know how you feel. last year two of my co-workers passed away. a 26 year old, newly-married guy died of stomache cancer. and a 52 year old (who looked like 40) lady died of breast cancer. she died 6 weeks later after she was diagnoised with breast cancer, we all thought there was a cure. but... |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:03 pm |
One of the ironies involved in cancer, as I understand it, is that it can be more aggressive in a younger person, principally because their cells reproduce at a more rapid rate.
I do think that alot of progress has been made in treating different types of cancer but I find it INSANE that both the government and the insurance companies refuse to pay more for preventative care. Even from a pure business standpoint, I would think that it would be cost effective.
I better shut up. If I get started on this I'll never get any work done today. |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:37 pm |
| Thank you for sharing. We all need a reminder once in a while. |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:40 pm |
Katee,
my heart goes out to you and your friends.
Let's hope that it was caught in time and that the outcome will be good. |
_________________
Early 50s, Skin: combin.,semi-sensitive, fair with occasional breakouts, some old acne scars, freckles, under-eye wrinkles; Redhead with hazel eyes |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:50 pm |
| So sorry to hear about your friend...Do you know what was involved in the health screening? My doc does a whole list of blood tests as part of the annual visit. Is that what you mean by health screening? |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:39 pm |
| Oh Katee, how awful for them, and you - and yet how lucky to have caught it now when there was still a chance to treat it. |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:17 pm |
| Katee, thanks for sharing this with us, and I am soooo sorry to hear about your friend. Interesting that you mention this because a recent issue of Body+Soul magazine had an article on the importance of screenings, why we avoid them and why we shouldn't. Your post really drove that to heart for me. |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:56 pm |
| Misha, I think this screening must have been one of those full-body scan type of things. Like an MRI. Was that the kind of screening, Katee? |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:58 pm |
Katee,
I am very sorry about your friend. I wish her a speedy recovery. |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:33 pm |
| Yup Poco .... |
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Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:45 pm |
i really hope your friend gets well soon and my heart truely goes out to you two.. i felt a lump in my chest/heart while i was reading
thank you for sharing and reminding us of the importance of health screening.. and i totally feel you on the preventative care the govt' should be taking ..
whenever i start talking to the drs about my health and hinting that i want full checkups/screening they dismiss it and think that i am worrying too much.. expecting me to be healthy as a default just because i am fairly young... i think thats a fuckedup mentality to have and man.. i dont know.. i guess thats how socity works? who cares until something bad happens? 
this thread has just reinforced my commitment to my health and wellness |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:30 am |
My heart goes out to you and your friends too, Katee. My parents' neighbor, who is in her early 60s, lost a lung to lung cancer about 20 years ago (also a non-smoker and overall healthy person). She amazes me because she is very active- she hikes up a steap butte (about 2 miles) every day during the warm months! She also beat the odds and her cancer has never returned.
I agree that it is a shame that preventative medicine is not taken more seriously in our country. Another scary thought is that ovarian cancer is something like the 5th leading cause of cancer death for women yet many health care providers and insurance companies do not screen for it because they, and I might be totally incorrect in saying this, do not want to pay for the screening cost. |
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early-mid 30s || oily-combination, sensitive & acne-prone skin || mild breakouts (Aczone helps a lot) || occasional eczema rashes || fine lines around eyes || very dark under eye cirlces- concealer a must || very fair neutral-warm complexion, blue eyes, blonde hair |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:27 am |
It is truly terrifying the illnesses that sneak up on people nowadays witout any warning or sign and how quickly they can take hold... it is a real miracle that your friend just happened to go for the check-up. Hopefully she will be able to recover well.. at least is she was in training for a marathon then her remaining lung would have a good strong start to getting her back on her feet.
In Japan, everyone has their annual health check! If you are a regular employee (ie full time) it is usually provided free of charge (covered by the company or the corporate health insurance) though my old company I had to contribute $50 of it. It is not covered by the National Health Scheme (which is what everyone has who is either part-time, self-employeed or a student etc.), but I think maybe you would pay about $300 for the basics.
My husband's coworker got called out of work one day to go to the clinic where his 26-yr old wife just had her check-up because the doc wanted him present before he gave the results - which showed stomach cancer. The test also picked up hubby's heart problem last year (which we had been looking for an explanation of for ages). Even in university they did annual screening of blood, pee and lungs...
Also, each year, the local ward offices choose a certain bunch of birth years and offer free screening for a variety of ails (and also select residents over certain ages for certain screenings) . I just got my packet this week of what I can have for free this year, but have not had an opportunity to look at it yet.
The most basic test covers blood, pee & poo testing, chest x-ray and a lovely Barium test (then they shake you up like a cocktail and spin you around on a bizarre metal bed and photograph your gut)... there was also ultrasound of the stomach, gyno check, and you could add-on other stuff too. Which reminds me, I am due for one.... |
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SKIN: combination, reactive to climate changes and extremely fair. "Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself." --Roseanne |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 2:41 am |
Katee, I am very sorry about your friend and I hope she recovers her life again.
I am curious about the screening that she undertook in that it was able to detect this cancer. I don't believe we have anything like this in Oz. Here it seems like we have to have last stage symptoms before a scan is taken which is usually too late. |
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Skin: Over 60, ex combination now sensitive, Cellcosmet |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:29 am |
| I don't think we have any of that kind of screening available in the UK either, even if you go private instead of relying on the useless NHS. I'd pay for the peace of mind if it was available! |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:01 am |
| Really sorry for your friends! And bless her to recover soon! |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:15 am |
Thank you all for your kind words. With a little bit of luck, decent healthcare, and the determination to get well, unless there are unforseen developments, I think she's going to be okay. It's just going to take some time.
The center that she went to for this screening does the usual blood and cardio tests that are standard to any thorough physical. This guy's innovation is the use of full body MRI screening, which is how this was picked up.
The only argument against it is the cost factor. However, I just ready a study and analysis put out by NIH that explains that it's only expensive now because it isn't done as part of a universal health screening. Their point is that if it were, we'd produce more of the technology and, in short order, the cost would drop precipitously. (Think about in terms of what the cost of a cell phone and cell phone service was 10 years ago and what it is now.) Even in the short term, the cost effectiveness is obvious, not to mention the savings in human life and suffering. It does, however, require an initial investment.
It can be very hard to see past the tip of your nose when your head is so far up your ass.  |
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Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:03 pm |
Although we do have the screening here in Canada, it is usually a last resort as well, and normally only in the larger cities at best.
I believe early detection would save many lives, and everyone should have access to screening. This should not be a privilege but a basic, fundamental human right!
katee - Best wishes to you and your friend. I sincerely hope she recovers quickly. |
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51 years old/brunette/normal- oily medium skin. |
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