My
phone rang the other day and, as usual, I looked to see who was
calling. No one from my contact list and so I didn't answer. It is
rare indeed for an anonymous call to actually be one I want to take.
I figure if it's important, they'll leave a message and so this call
did. It was from my supplemental health insurance provider and they
wanted a call back so I obliged. The lady wanted to know if I had had
a mammogram this year.
Me:
no
Her:
it is completely free, no cost to you.
Me:
yes I'm aware of that.
Her:
has your primary care physician recommended one to you?
Me:
yes but I declined.
Her:
how long has it been since you had a mammogram?
Me:
two, two and a half years.
Her:
where did you have it done?
Me:
Bay City
Her:
would you like me to call and make an appointment for you?
Me:
no, I don't see that doctor anymore and I'd rather not drive all the
way to Bay City.
Her:
would you like me to find a facility near you?
Me:
if you insist.
This
woman WILL NOT give up!
So
she tells me to hold on while she checks and comes back on the line
that she found a facility there in Wharton, it's the medical center
where I went to get my annual earlier this year from my new primary
care physician.
Her:
would you like me to call and make an appointment for you?
Me:
I guess.
So
she puts me on hold again, calls the med center, gets the x-ray
department on the phone and then gets back to me. Now we are on a
three way phone call and I'm talking with the tech, giving her my
information, telling her that I had been to see one of their doctors
earlier this year.
Tech:
did your doctor request a mammogram?
Me:
yes, but I declined.
Tech:
are you having any problems?
Me:
no, it's just that my health care provider is being a little more
insistent.
Which
produced chuckles from both women.
So
yesterday I went in for my mammogram and had to fill out the form
they give you and where it asks for the reason for this visit I wrote
'my health care provided insisted'. The tech is looking over my form
and when she gets to the reason for my visit she exclaims, “oh,
that was you!”. Never, she says, in all her years has she ever had
someone's insurance company call to make an appointment for one of
their clients. She was amazed. (They also call me once or twice a year to try and set
up a home visit for a general health screening and scrutiny of the
home environment to check for lurking dangers which I always decline.
I'm not feeble yet, I tell them.)
I
would probably been a little more insistent in my refusal of the
mammogram if my sister hadn't told me just a few days before that she
found our maternal great-grandmother's death certificate and the cause of
death was 'breast cancer'.
Well, I don't know about mammograms. I wait until my doctor "insists" and actually, he's part of a large group and they make the appointment and all that stuff so whatever. I did it this year. The tech was so nice and the day after the mammogram my own doctor's office called to tell me that it had been normal and I really thought that was awesome.
ReplyDeletemy doctor did want me to have one, I just didn't. though generally the powers that be want you to get one every year. and I have never before had my insurance company call to make sure I got one.
DeleteI get a letter with a scheduled appointment every two years and I just go like a little lamb. There's free coffee, too - and my maternal grandmother had breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteevery two years is frequent enough for me.
DeleteMy last was thirty odd years ago, and my breasts were so full of cysts, it was difficult to read the films. I've not been back--and my mother died of breast cancer. I'm considering it.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I both have our yearly mammogram. On one annual exam, they found tumors in my sister's breast and she had to have a bilateral mastectomy. Nothing had shown up in the one the year before. Just saying gals.
ReplyDeleteI told my general, that hell no I won't go, and told him that it would not matter if anything was found because I would not undergo the so called treatment even if anything was found, no thanks. I also turned down a list of injections that he thought valid. They are not used to being told NO. anyway, I don't even have boobs enough to squish, they just end up squishing whatever they can find and it hurts.Glad you stood up to them as long as you were able. ALSO, my general said that family history has naught to do with it. There's a surprise!
ReplyDeletesmall boobies has also been my excuse. I figured anything that popped up would be noticeable and it amazes me that she was able to get anything on that plate to smush but she said they can see stuff as small as the dot of a pen long before it would be noticable. I also declined the flu and shingles vaccines, the meds for osteoporosis and cholesterol. had a stress test last summer and the cardiologist said no sign of blockage.
DeleteI think I had my mammogram the same day you did. It had been 10 years. My sister was just diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, already spread to lymph nodes. She will be having a radical double mastectomy. I keep telling my self that breast feeding 5 babies will save me. We will see …...
ReplyDeleteI'm hanging my hat on the breast feeding too. only had two kids though. sorry to hear about your sister.
DeleteGoing for my boob smushing in a couple of weeks. It's been a while. No flu vaccines for me, though.
ReplyDeleteI was getting paranoid that I hadn't had a mammogram in while, but finally remember to look for the paperwork & it was February. I usually do some fancy schmancy 3D one because I have dense breasts & some cysts - I kept getting called back in to have further tests. Last week I had my first pap in a while & she said that my cervix "looks weird" - depending on the pap results she may refer me onward. I told her that I've heard that before, so I'm not too worried about it.
ReplyDeleteglad you're not worried. can't remember the last time I had a pap smear. but all my life, every well woman exam I heard 'retroflex and retrograde' which apparently means my uterus tilts in the opposite direction from everyone else's. bodies are so weird.
Delete