Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Please take a moment to read this

I'm going to take a moment to step away from saving money, coupon clipping and offering magazines at a great PRICE (I'm still taking orders so EMAIL me ASAP if you are interested) to request you read and take action.....

Subject: : MASTECTOMY.. .......PLEASE READ AND RESPOND

From a nurse:

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast.

I remember begging the Doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patients, giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank You' they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue.

If you know anyone who has had a Mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards.

Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure.

Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important .. Please take the time and do it really quick!

Please send this to everyone in your address book.

If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times.

There is a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require Insurance Companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy.

It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the House signed on.

PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the Web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number <http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php>

This takes about 2 seconds.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS.

I've already signed up and left my thoughts in the comment section. Please do the same. I have a SIL and several friends that have been effected and I do not want any woman to go through a "drive thru" surgery.

Til later...........

5 comments:

Loretta said...

Oh, believe me, I signed that petition LONG ago! I was in the hospital for 24 hours after my modified radical mastectomy and lymph node dissection. I went home with two drains and a huge incision filled with stitches & covered with steri-strips. The drains had to be emptied multiple times a day and the fluid amount recorded, and my dressings had to be changed everyday. I had home health nurse visits once a week for six weeks, but in between those visits, it was my daughter (who turned 15 while this was going on) who took care of me, as my dh was on the road most of the time, having used up all his vacation time. Recovery was rough, especially since I'd just been through 2½ months of very harsh chemo, completed only ten days prior to my surgery.

It is terrifying to be so desperately sick, have such a huge & disfiguring surgery, have drains hanging out of your body and be in so much pain, and the doctor & nurses pat you on the shoulder, say "Good luck!"...and you're on your own.

This legislation NEEDS to be passed!

Anonymous said...

I went over and signed the petition. My friend is going through this right now. They rushed her out of the hospital and she's having a heck of a time. Reading Loretta's comment really breaks my heart. How sad that this happens! Thanks Cheryl for sharing this important petition and thanks to Loretta for sharing her story. Loretta, I hope you're doing GREAT now!

Nicole said...

I signed!

Nicole

Loretta said...

Thank you, Lisa. :) I had to have 12 more infusions of a different kind of chemo after I recovered from the surgery, plus 36 rounds of radiation after that, but I am cancer-free now, as far as we know.

Chemo helped induce diabetes and I still have many after-effects of all the chemo, steroids & radiation to deal with, but considering that 3½ years ago, we weren't sure I'd be here now at all, I'm doing okay! :)

Sorry, SIL dear, for hijacking your comments page!

Cheryl said...

No problem. I wish I could do more to help. Making people aware is the least I can do.

Love you