natural girls
Comments
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Robyn - maybe in fifty years. One would hope sooner.
Deni - I know! Its so damn expensive. It is ridiculous. So my cousin's son can get a script for otc cold medicine because it costs less than buying it off the shelf but we can't get a script for calcium/d/mg. I have a script for d3 but its 100k units. My flex spending (per the IRS) dosen't cover vitamins and supplements or a gym membership. Heck I don't even think it covers condoms yet will cover abortions. I guess the preventive platform is kinda short huh?
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It's the midget of healthcare!
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PS73, you wrote: "...the oncologist's job is to give you chemo not cure your cancer - their job is to administer chemotherapy to you through a particular algorithm based on your weight and dx per the ACA guidelines."
Indeed, that's what happened to me and so many others: onc went ahead with aggressive TAC chemo without even providing me with my Onco-DX test results (low), and despite the fact that I ddid not present any lymph node. The H....with the facts, full steam ahead.
And Vivre, you said: "Crunchy, as Althea said, it is best to stay off of other threads. Those who are open to our way of thinking will find there way here.": I am telling you, I can confirm that, having experienced it first hand. We are, indeed a small (but obviously fast growing army) here, and indeed, many people are finding their way here, even if they were not originally inclined to question the conventional.
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Here would be my solution to healthcare, but since it is so simple, of course it will not even be considered. I think we should all just have insurance for catostrophic care, when we have a real crisis. I think we should also have a health savings account that is tax deductible like an IRA. We could use this to for routine doctors care, chiros, naturalists, supplements, etc. We could each have a kind of credit card that we use for this account for "wellness care". Anything we do not use in one year, carries over into another, for us to use when we might need it later. This would lower the costs of our care significantly for many reasons. First, doctors would not have to deal with insurance for every little thing. Second, we would be more willing to shop around for basic services, resulting in lower prices. Third we need to get rid of all the lawsuits and allow doctors to make educated guesses again and not run so many expensive tests because they are afraid they will get sued. When I had condritis, my PS sent me to have all kinds of scans, xrays, and lung and heart tests, even though I kept telling her it felt skeletal muscular. I went to a chiro and he dx'd condritis in 2 minutes, treated me a few times, and it was gone. Why do they have to rule out the big stuff first. Why not start at the bottom and work up. BECAUSE they are afraid if they miss something they will lose their practice. It is infuriating. All the thousands I spent on those tests just steams me. I could have had 10 years of massages for all the $$$$.
I will never understand why it has to be either/or. Why they can't just give us the truth, and let us choose for ourselves. That is why the whole system is not working. It is all about the business of health and not about the patient.
I was a teacher. The best advice I ever got about teaching was to "teach students, not lesson plans". If only doctors would "treat patients, not disease".
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AMEN!!!!! Well said, Virve! (You go, girl!)
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>> If only doctors would "treat patients, not disease".<<
Amen vivre! I just got back from my first accupuncture visit. I loved it! I told him my main complaint is fatigue and I believe my thyroid is underactive. I filled out paperwork that was fairly brief and then he proceeded with some accupuncture. He places very thin needles in various places and leaves them there for 25 minutes while I just laid there and meditated to soothing instrumental music.
He suggests three treatments initially, in three consecutive days. I was going to order some labs from lef.org, but by the time I filled my shopping cart with all I wanted, it was pushing $700. I can get 3 accupuncture treatments for almost half that amount, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll finally get the lead out and get to where I have the energy to get things done. So tired of feeling and living like a slug.
After my treatment, I stepped into the doctor's office, and three big walls were filled with shelf after shelf of jars filled with herbs. Plus, he is also a tae kwon do grand master and knows the man I learned from years ago in Oregon. What a flash from the past. Seems like a lifetime ago that I took tae kwon do.
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Hello Ladies,
Deni63-Yummy, Thank you for the website
.Vivre-Love those songs
.Jenny.
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Viv - where do I sign up???
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Im seeing a potential to use a barter system with credits and less focus on the dollar bill.
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Althea, does it hurt? I have always wondered...
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Althea, great description of the whole expererience!
Spring, it doesn't hurt (or at least it shouldn't). I usually feel just the tiniest pinch or even nothing. There were a few times when it did hurt, and the acupuncturist readjusts it. Funnily enough, every time a needle hurt when it was inserted, I would ask what that point was, and it always corresponded to something like stress (which has always been a MAJOR problem of mine)!
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Crunchy,
You probably didn't have any nodes in armpit removed, right? (Being DCIS?) I wonder if it would be safe for those of use who HAVE had nodes removed, you know, they lymphedema risk if that arm is messed with.
I assume s/he puts the little needles in both your arms?
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Spring - I had acupuncture done and I have had lymphnodes removed. They won't do the IV in the arm that I have had nodes removed, but acupunture is OK.
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Ooh, Spring, that's a very good point... no, I didn't (I haven't had acu done since I was diagnosed though)... I didn't think about that. The needles go into various points throughout the body, but they are very shallow insertions... and very tiny needles. I'm sure they could avoid any acu points on the arms if there were concern about lymphedema.
Love your new avatar photo!!
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Spring, I like your new profile pic. It is not bad, it's slightly uncomfortable. A little cold because of the metal and the fact that its cold out. The accupuncture may even help lymphadema so be sure to mention it. Bring your scans with you because the accupuncturist I went to in Phili saw my scan and literally his first needle was the exact spot that had been hurting me (non BC related issue).
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I took your advice and I did complain at the rads clinic. (the weekend following the mapping appointment, I noticed pain/numbness in my arm, similar to right after surgery - I thought , GREAT!, I've been busting my butt to prevent lymphodema and the rads tech caused it by hurting my arm...)
So I complained about that. I also complained because I said when I asked questions about photos, and they took them anyway without waiting for me to hear the answer - that was a procedure without consent.... I said I demand those photos at the end of treatment - no keeping them in my records - (or whatever databases they are in the process of creating. )
the doctor admitted they were rushing that day. No duh.
I am STILL not comfortable about the fact that they are not covering my untreated body parts during rads.
I asked the tech about that today, and she said they have such a tight beam that it doesn't need to be covered. So I asked her why she has to not only go out of the room, but down the labrynth hallway and behind a big lead wall.
She said, because we do it so much... Well, that means there are rays outside of the neat little beam, right?
so then she said they wear the badges, and that "we never get a positive badge unless we forget it in the room.' ARGHH~!
So where's MY badge???
On another note....
If conventional med says vits and antioxidants are crap and don't work, how can they turn around and say avoid supplements during rads or chemo because it will decrease the benefit of their poisons?
could they be ====satan?? LOL. NO offense please.... Joke!!~ Church lady... very old , I know, but that's what came out of the archives as I was writing that.... sorry.
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I remember Church Lady! That was hilarious. I"m glad you complained. They told me the same thing about rads and I just didn't buy it. My tumor was just too close to my heart for me to take any chances.
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I just found this and tried it and it was divine. Mind you I have no breasts so I
had to modify just a bit.
http://www.bellevuemassagetherapy.com/breast-massage.html
I also did a hand massage and you would have thought a bowl of rice crispies was going off in the room.
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Spring, love your new photo!
There was only one spot during accupuncture that really caused discomfort. When I asked why that one hurt, he said there's a tendon in that location. The discomfort was minimal, and nowhere near what I endure as they fish around for a vein. I don't have lymphedema to my knowledge and it's fading from the things I worry about, even though I know the risk never goes away. I peeked in the lympedema section today and saw some ladies there report benefits from accupuncture. I think if I had swelling I'd not want needles in that area. Otherwise, I feel pretty certain that my hangnails are way worse than anything the accupuntcurist would do to my affected side
ps73, geez, do you live at the end of earth too? It sounds like you went to the same doctor who lectured me for 'self diagnosing and self medicating' when I 'fessed up' to drinking green tea with ginseng. I'm going to eat more cinnamon and hope my temperature comes up. I just got a new bottle -- organic this time.
vivre, I forgot to mention last time that I love your health care plan!
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Yikes, althea! The discussion on the lymphedema board is about acuPRESSURE, not acupuncture. With acupressure there's gentle sustained pressure on certain body points, but no skin break. With breast cancer treatment, all of us are at risk for lymphedema in the entire quadrant of our body that was treated, and even the smallest skin breaks increase our risk of serious infection and resulting lymphedema. Best to avoid that quadrant, or stick with acupressure. Fortunately for aficionados of acupuncture, it should not be necessary to use that quadrant to achieve the desired results, as a good acupuncturist knows how to use other areas just as effectively.
There is a study just starting at Memorial Sloan Kettering to investigate the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for patients with lymphedema, but for now there's no way of knowing what the safe protocols are for using acupuncture needles on people with, or at risk for, lymphedma.
Hope that helps some. Be well,
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Binney, I found a shorter list of threads when I searched on accupressure than I did on accupuncture. I found a couple of threads started in feb and march where people spoke of their accupuncture experiences -- although it's not clear in some comments what prompted those visits to get the accupuncture.
I'm nearly 5 years post dx and seeking relief from my underactive thyroid. If I were seeking accupuncture for relief from LE, I'd definitely be more compliant with your advice. I really didn't think about the LE implications of accupuncture until after I had my first one. Then I realized, oops, I'd better see if the LE ladies have discussed this. I'm already aware that anything that can draw blood from the affected quadrant is something to avoid as it increases risk of LE, and I appreciate your vigilance in bc.org as you educate countless numbers of women about this condition.
I can see that I've become complacent on this issue. Between my hangnails and all the scrapes, cuts, punctures and mosquito bites while gardening over the years, it just seems to me accupuncture is a cakewalk in comparison. Binney, we have lots of new ladies on this thread if you'd like to post a link to some 'lymphedema 101'. I sure never heard a peep out of any of my medical providers on this. And for me, I truly do feel sort of complacent about the LE. Even though I've read many times the risk is everpresent, I just can't help but feel that it would've 'struck' by now if it was going to.
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Althea, bless you! I'd be delighted to suggest a couple of "Lymphedema 101" websites. You're so right that our medical providers rarely offer the information we need to protect ourselves. Partly it's lack of education -- our medical schools are lax about teaching the lymph system. As research into this grows (slowly!) I think that will be changing, because the evidence is mounting that our lymph system, which is part of our immune system, plays a far larger role in our health (and even in the development of all kinds of cancer) than anyone has ever suspected.
So -- ta-da!!
-- a couple of sites starring The Lymph System:http://www.lymphnet.org
This is the National Lymphedema Network, which offers Position Papers on Risk Reduction, Exercise, and Air Travel.http://www.StepUp-SpeakOut.org
Information here specifically for women (and men) who have been treated for breast cancer, about lymphedema risk, treatments, research, and coping. Even a page about "What We Need Healthcare Providers to Know" that you can print out to spark discussion about risk reduction with your doctors and nurses.So, whether this is Lymphedema 101 or just a quicky refresher course, sure hope none of you has a single "swell" day for the rest of your long and very healthy lives!
Binney0 -
Here's an article I received this morning about how cancer rates of some cancers have decreased, but not enough!
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Another interesting article from LEF. I wonder if the drops reported here are due NOT to treatment, but simply to the fact that: (i) colorectal is one of the cancers that appear to be 100% curable with early detection, indeed (probably along with skin cancer); and (ii) people finally respond to the long, long-standing warnings about tobacco.....
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Also, less women prescribed Tamoxifen are taking it! I don't know if that is a contributing factor, and I am certainly not questioning anyone's choices, but it is something to think about.
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Deni, where did you read this, that less women are taking their prescribed tamoxifen? Was a study done on it?
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rgiuff: several links have been posted on this Board concerning the fact that women are reluctant to take Tamoxifen, as mentioned by Deni. Time permitting, I'll try and dig some up, but should be easy to find.
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So, the bottom line is we are not sure about acupuncture and lymphedema risk. I don't have lymphedema, but I am at risk b/c I had 3 nodes removed, AND they radiated my armpit AND my clavical on that side.
Those of you who have done acupuncture, do you feel your person would have been knowledgeable about the lymphedema risks, or not? The reason I ask is that I had a massage over the summer, I mentioned my risk of lymphedema to the therapist and she went WAY TO HARD on that arm. I was worried I would develop LE from the massage! Luckily, it was ok.
Spring.
(PS my new pic, yes I am glowing because ALL MY SURGERY IS DONE!!!! I am finally done with all this crap, after 18 months! Woot!)
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Here are a couple of links. They are basically the same story posted on two different sites. I also did see an article posted on the threads here recently but I don't remember exactly where it was. Yaz, if you remember, please post. Thanks!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091202101759.htm
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I'm feeling a little vulnerable not being able to take any supplements before my surgery next week. If you had to cheat and take something, do you think Vitamin D and C would be OK? How about the progesterone cream, I just got mine in the mail (Emerita Pro Gest) and am anxious to use it, do you think using the cream would be OK or should I wait until after the surgery?
Terri
Edited to add: Spring, what a beautiful photo. You're the picture of health!
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