Doctors & Such....

Due to all the controversy regarding my mammogram, I made an appointment to meet with my primary care doctor. I must say, he put my mind at ease. He actually GAVE me the test results ON PAPER. Then, we went over every little thing, especially all the language that I didn't understand. After all of that, he then gave me this big long speech about how doctors & radiologists have this oath (that I may have heard of) along with all these laws (that I may or may not have heard of) that require doctors and radiologists to actually perform every test they can to PROTECT the patient. Then he asked me what the insurance company was protecting. My answer was simple: their money. And while I did think about it in those terms, sort of, because I hadn't spoken to my doctor prior to my mammogram retake, I didn't really know if he had even seen the results and thought the insurance guy was right. This follow up appointment not only confirmed that he reviewed the test results, but he was the one that ordered the diagnostic test to begin with! My doctor really is a great doctor. (Note: the speech was not as bad as I made it sound, I just don't know any other way to explain what he explained, so carefully, without sounding condescending.)

Here is where the & such part comes in: while I was there, I found out that the ache in my foot is something I actually have to see a podiatrist in order to solve. I still don't know exactly what it is, but I do know that if I walk on it too much, I end up limping. (This was the main reason I haven't been posting my walks, they have been SHORT!) He asked me to keep it easy until then, so I have to wait another week before see the podiatrist to be cleared for training.  Oh, and my blood pressure is elevated to the point I have to keep an eye on it - every week - and if it gets too high, I have to go back in. I also have to go in for a recheck before the walk, to ensure I can do it.

Oh, the issues!!! I had it so easy the first time around!!!


Thanks for reading! ~ Deanna

This year, so different....

Here I am 63 days away from walking 60 miles, and I feel utterly defeated. Between the stress over the mammogram, the controversy regarding the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the lack of participation (to the point 1/2 of next year's events are cancelled), I am lost. Everywhere I turn, there is more and more controversy facing me. I have only raised 43% of the required monies to participate, and am having problems asking people to donate. Well, I ask, but the response I have been receiving makes it harder for me to ask again, or ask others, so the donations are not coming in as they had in the past.

Three years ago, when there was a training walk, there were several walkers and new people every time. This year, it seems that the attending walkers are just us - the training walk leader the few teammates that can join us (4 people at most). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE our walks even when it is just 2 of us; I am just so saddened that there aren't more people participating and the lack of participation is so VERY apparent when there isn't anyone there.

I feel that I am stuck - but I have such a supportive team, and a husband who won't let me quit no matter how heartbroken I am (he's been fixing that as much as he can....) that I can't be stuck anymore.

I have got to get my butt in gear (and in shape) so that 63 days from now I will walk with my head held high for all 60 miles!!!

Thanks for reading! ~ Deanna

Mammogram Stress Relieved??

I haven't be able to write lately. I had been so stressed over my diagnostic mammogram - the unknown of why they wanted me to come back, the fear of what they were going to tell me. Then, when they told me it was "something that meant nothing, come back in 6 months" well, that just caused more stress, even though I don't have cancer!

It appears that I have a growth that is 7 mm in size that appears to be an abnormal lymph node in my breast. This abnormality could mean nothing, but it could mean that the lymph node is fighting something they don't see. They want me to come back in 6 months.

In dealing with getting the insurance all worked out, my insurance specialist informed me that there are several hospitals, including the one I went to, that are working a sort of scam where they tell people they need to go in for re-scans every 6 months, and that these diagnostic scans are not covered by insurance and they end up paying for them out of pocket, like I had to for the one I just had and the one I will take in 6 months.

So, here I am now, wondering if the 7 mm abnormality is actually something that needs to be watched or if it was just a way for the imaging center to earn income. Breast Cancer SCARES me - I know way to many people affected by it not to be scared. I am going to get my scan in 6 months, and see where it goes from there.

But, I am spinning. I don't even know how to stop spinning - so I am going to dedicate the rest of the year to raising awareness. In talking to my friends, many of them have similar diagnoses, and they are all getting their scans as directed. I just don't know what to think.....

Anyone else out there with these issues???

Thanks for reading! ~ Deanna