STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER
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I applied for a part-time clerical position at the local community college online and today I got a follow-up email that to move forward in the process (to work 15 hours per week for $12.29 per hour) I had to do an online assessment. So I just spent a couple of hours doing time assessments for MS Word, Excel, a typing test, and a filing test. They will let me know how I did and if I get to the interview stage next.
I probably won't move to the next level because I don't think I did very well. Chemo really did a number on my processing speed and I just feel like such a failure. I have worked as an admin assistant and in customer service and sales for years but now to get a part-time job for less than Target pays, I have to pass a bunch of tests just to maybe get an interview. It's disheartening especially because if you forget how to do something in a software program on the job, you can use the help button or google to tell you how to do it, so why test if I know how to do it of the top of my head. Anyway, I feel like my brain is swiss cheese post-chemo
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3 steps forward. 1 step back.
Woke up this morning with some swelling under my arm. Felt weird. Can’t usually feel anything since my surgery in January
Has a pre op appt today. having my tubes and ovaries removed in may. Had Doc check my pit. Made a smart ass comment about not seeing doctors all the time anymore. I’d ask whatever doc I had access to
Too soon.
She felt it too. Not In Her scope of practice.
now I Have a radiology appt to scan scheduled for Friday.0 -
Not as calm- did you have covid vaxx anytime in the last 4-5 weeks?
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Notascalm, doesn't it feel like you're finally sort of cruising along, maintaining altitude, when a shot comes without warning and BEEP BEEP BEEP losing altitude, pull nose up, eject, eject! I guess the truth is that none of us are safe at any time. All of us are subject to random whims of the universe. But before I didn't KNOW this on a visceral level and now I do. I know it all the time. I am sucked into the Bad Event Vortex all the time, as you are right now. I long for those blissful days pre-cancer when my mind was on everything else aside from my own mortality. I have not yet been able to get okay with my own earlier than planned demise. No, I do not at this moment have a confirmed diagnosis of uterine cancer. But I am leaning VERY heavy to refusing radiation treatment after the research I have done on the long term effects and the tragic UNDER-reporting and under management and not being able to do a damn thing about any of them. So, if this is uterine cancer, and there is every reason that it will be, this is my nose dive with the eject bell screaming in my ear. Notsocalm, if you are not calm, no one can blame you. The whole circus is very disheartening. Hugs.
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yes. I've had my second vaccine in the last week. I told doc that. The vaccine and the lump are/were on opposite sides.
Doc is still concerned giving my history.
I really want hot fudge Sunday.
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NotasCalm... have the damn sundae. Or TWO of them.
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runor--I feel your frustration and it makes me angry that you have to wait so long. I have "thickened endometrium" that precipitated the Biopsy From Hell in February. The result was "inconclusive" but since I'm not having any bleeding (at least not until that effing biopsy), they decided it is a non-issue. Then I had a CT scan a couple of weeks ago and the "DANGER!! THICKENED ENDOMETRIUM!!!!" flag was flying again. I messaged my gyn and they replied that it would be addressed when my breast cancer treatment is done.
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2019whatayear good luck on your test. Know how hard it is taking those anyway for anyone NOT dealing with cancer. Hope you get the job you want and deserve to get.
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jaycee - I'm so sorry to hear about your problems with the vaccine. I have a friend with an autoimmune condition and her family keeps pressuring her to get vaccinated so she can go on vacation with them and her inlaws want her to get vaccinated so everybody can come meet her SIL's new baby and her boss is pressuring her to get it so she can come back to the office and she doesn't want to get it yet because another flare up for her means a colostomy bag permanently. I told her your story. I'm glad you still have your sense of humor (which I love btw).
runor - thinking of you. I don't know how you Canadians deal with all the waiting. I think I'd lose my shit.
NotAsCalm - I second eating the sundae.
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runor: "All of us are subject to random whims of the universe" is an apt way to express our BC/health/life experiences. It almost seems that once we are dx with BC that these whims multiply exponentially. I can only speak for myself, but that dx seemed to initiate a domino effect for other health issues. Did not want to be a member of this club and think this may apply to most who post here. Sorry you have to deal with not only your health challenges but the trials of a socialized medicine system.
Sorry Beesie, I'll opt for my system any day even if it is costly at times. When I had a rotator cuff tear, I initially tried a conservative approach with PT, etc because I wanted to avoid surgery. When I could no longer lift my arm to put on a coat/shirt/whatever, that was enough suffering. I had my surgery shortly thereafter and did not have to wait months or years. Luckily it was a success and I have full ROM. BTW my insurance covered the entire cost of surgery and my only out of pocket expense was an icing system that was a rental where I had to pay a co-pay.
Jaycee: I am so sorry about your reaction to the vaccine and the impact it has had on your health. I hope your symptoms resolve soon.
Notascalm: Ditto on the sundae and I would request extra hot fudge. Love the DQ Peanut Buster which feeds two loves: peanuts and hot fudge.
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Betrayal, I'm glad you are happy with your healthcare. I have no doubt I would be happy with it too. But as you said, "it is costly at times". Personally I prefer a system where even those people who cannot afford a platinum, gold or silver plan are still able to receive the same quality healthcare that I can afford, without having to worry about deductibles that force them to skip or delay treatments, or threaten them with bankruptcy.
And to clarify one last time, I am not saying that runor should not be angry - in her situation, I'd be livid. Nor am I saying that the Canadian healthcare system doesn't have major issues (just as the U.S. healthcare system does). I have merely been pointing out that the slings & arrows have been wrongly directed. To my earlier (April 16th, 3:12 p.m.) post, blaming the "Canadian healthcare system" for problems at the local level is equivalent to an American blaming the federal Department of Health and Human Services because her biopsy results from the lab are taking an extraordinarily long time to come through. Sitting between the "Canadian healthcare system" and the patient are the doctor, the doctor's office, the testing/lab facility, the regional health authority, and the provincial healthcare system.0 -
I'm still mad at people dissing my healthcare system.
Why do people wait? Because the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. We sometimes wait for results because the pathologist is busy reading slides for people with more serious presentation.
Or it might be poor communication in a single Drs office to blame. That's not the fault of a "socialized health csre system" that's a single person.
Still have a kid looking after way too many icu pts.
These pts (younger and younger btw) are in there struggling for their lives and one thing they know for sure is they will not be getting a bill for medical costs when they hopefully get out. Hell right now even parking is free at our hospitals
If I started just plain cut & pasting here every time someone from the US on another thread complained about insurance or being denied something or overbilled, or panicking about what treatment was covered, this thread would be clogged with me saying "oh look how horrible! glad I'm not in that for-profit greedy system!"
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moth - It must be scary to have your kid working with covid patients. My SIL has worked in the covid ward for over a year intubating patients. She's stayed well the whole time and now fully vaccinated. Hope your kid is the same.
Here are some of my experiences in the Quebec healthcare system:
1) It took 1 1/2 years to find a family doctor. My kids were in primary school and already had completed their childhood vaccinations. We were all healthy. Quebec has a system of local clinics that provide services like vaccinations without needing a PCP. They handled my mastectomy aftercare. It's where I go for my port flushes and Xgeva injections (no charges). These clinics are great. Last time I was there my nurse gave me an offset of her cactus plant.
2) One morning my younger daughter noticed a pupil enlarged. I took her to the urgent care clinic that then sent us to the children's hospital ED. The ED saw us immediately and then sent us upstairs to the Opthalmology clinic where my daughter got a CT scan. While still in the hospital we got the results that found nothing wrong. We made it home by dinner. I suppose the day would've been shorter if I went directly to the hospital, but the urgent care clinic was closer to me. Her eye issue resolved on its own. The only charge for that one day (urgent care, ED, opthalmologist, CT) was parking at the hospital.
3) I do hate how the QC Premier and public health minister have politicized their covid response and used half measures that only prolong the pandemic.
Since this is the steam room, I can't stand people who have decided they're done with the pandemic and flout public health measures. There's a gym in Quebec City that decided to open and resulted in an outbreak of 580+ and 1 death (so far). The covid-denier owner ended up in ICU. Last weekend a synogouge was caught with a congregation of 250. Religious gatherings were the source of the early outbreaks last year. 🤬
I am 3 steps away from being a full-blown agoraphobic.
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Hapa, don't let others tell her what to do. I have one MS friend left who is not vaccinated. She has school age kids so she is considering what to do when school starts back up. She may get one dose of either the Moderna of Pfizer. I would skip it altogether but I am 73. My rollator is sitting here staring me in the face. I hate it. How could this happen? I may not be over it yet.
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LW422 - I was given the option of a stick in the hoohoo biopsy, which does tend to miss things and often when the result is inconclusive they want to do more tests anyway until it is conclusive. Which leads me to wonder why on earth they ever bother with the first biopsy knowing that it misses a lot of tissue? My doc was VERY clever in saying , "If I hear what you are saying, you do not want to come in for anything that might be inconclusive, in which case the best bet for absolute clarity of biopsy is a hysteroscope and D&C". I was not wildly excited about these procedures but they carried the blessing of being put OUT, instead of wide awake with my ass to the wind as someone goes up there with a backhoe. Put me OUT for that shit! Have you had a vaginal ultrasound? These can give some results that can inform future decisions. If you are concerned, and thickened endometrium is definitely something you should not ignore, ask for an internal US and save the D&C until after chemo, if you can.
Moth - I assume you have never fallen through a healthcare crack. I assume your treatments are done in a timely manner. Your defense of our 'system' is admirable but not exactly informed of the many people who are failed by this system. It is very possible that you are one of the privileged centrally located people who have no clue how the other half lives and as such you get to act like there is nothing wrong. Well there ARE things that are wrong. HUGELY wrong. Have you ever been told to wait 30 days to get a blood draw? I have. Have you ever waited a month for the oncologist to call you about starting treatment only to finally make the call yourself and find that no one has any record that they are to call you? I have! Somewhere the multi level, many faceted 'system' lost me. This has happened over and over. Beesie is correct in saying my use of the term "Canadian Healthcare System" is too broad. But since I do not know what more specific system to aim my remarks at, I aim it in the general direction. I too agree with Beesie that it would be terrible if medical treatment left people broke or without treatment. But in no way does it mean that I have to kiss the ass of a system that leaves many people out in the cold. Your suggestion that my anxiety over finding out if I have uterine cancer is less important that anyone else is insulting. My bias on this topic is as a system user getting what I feel is too slow service. Your bias is as a system insider with family members who are also paid by the system. so I guess we are both biased on this topic.
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runor: How you are being treated is unacceptable but it is not reflective of our over-all health care "system" . Please go to The Provincial Health Service Authority website. They oversee all of the health regions in BC. They have a compliments and complaint section. When I emailed my concerns they phoned back within a day to discuss it further. I then heard back from the offender (offender in my sight) . They called back a few days later to see if it had been addressed to my satisfaction etc. Overall my care has always been excellent. GP's are hard to find but my local walk-in clinic allows you to make appointments with the same doctor so there is continuity of care. I used it when my former doctor moved out to Surrey (too far to drive) and before my new doctor opened her practice a few blocks from where I live. Yes, we do have wait lists for some elective surgeries and the pandemic meant some tests might take longer since they could see fewer patients, given all the cleaning protocols they have to follow for equipment but if it is critical/urgent you will get care straight away. But no one has ever said "you can't have that tests because we have already paid for two of them" or say my insurance caps out at $X. For all its flaws I am happy to be here, on this side of the border.
I am pissed at all those people who think they have the right to spread the virus, that going to a gym or a bar is more important than looking out for others. I want to slap anti-vaxxers up side the head. I saw a sticker on lamp posts around our neighbourhood that said "LOCK DOWNS KILL MORE PEOPLE THAN COVID DOES. DON'T TRUST BONNIE HENRY" I wanted to take a sharpie and write BS across them. Okay, Dr. Henry has made some stumbles but -- really, guys, lockdowns kill people?
Sad that the upside of this is free parking. Parking was stupidly expensive and those who park are a captive audience.
As for religious gatherings -- I don't think God (if He exists) wants believers to risk death in order to worship in fellowship. God knows what is in your heart.
I think it will be a long time before I feel safe eating in restaurants or going into places unmasked, even when most of the population is vaccinated.
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Elderberry, I have posted before that I do also get good care. My experience at the cancer clinic was outstanding. As Beesie has rightly pointed out, and I acknowledge, my aim is too general and suppose I should speak up to someone who might have the authority to make a change. Like get a pathology lab set up closer to here so ALL cancer biopsies do not have to be trucked to Vancouver. Not everyone lives in Vancouver! I also think our system has great merit, but we need to be ever vigilant that we do not rest on our laurels and pat ourselves too happily on the back because there is vast room for improvement.
I had to chuckle when you said your doc moved to Surrey. My longest care doc left town for SASKATCHEWAN! What was he thinking?! In my time in this small town with a revolving roster of doctors I have had at least 8 different docs over 30 years. This is not continuity of care. People here struggle to get the care that larger center patients take for granted.
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Last month I had regular appointment with MO. Days before DH went into hospice I had labs done. Markers went up a little. Could be stress? Yes, maybe. He ordered labs for today, PET next week, then OV. Fine.
Go today, no flush on orders, just labs. Got flush approved and proceed. Nursie looks at screen, says you just had flush. I’ll delete this one on the 10th. NOOIOOOO that’s my PET. Fortunately I had the print out with me, and gave it to her. Oh my goodness I’m sorry. After a 10 minute phone conversation because she didn’t know how to fix it, I’m back to “just scanxiety”.
And they had screwed up delivery of my letrozole too.
I haven’t cried much since DH died, this really knocked me today.
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Jaycee49, My daughter has RA is on a biologic and received the J&J vaccine. The next day she had trouble walking with flu like symptoms. By Monday she was better, but then she had a RA flare up. She has been on prednisone for a month and yesterday she had to have her wrist injected. Her doctor said her patients who had the J&J were having problems. I hope for you and my daughter this resolves soon. Her doctor is requesting her patients receive another covid vaccine. She is recommending everyone gets a vaccine.
Serenity Stat here in the states the COVID Data Tracker Vaccination Demographic Trends tab shows vaccination trends by age group. As of April 22, 80.7% of people ages 65 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 66% are fully vaccinated. Just over one-half (52%) of people ages 18 or older have received at least one dose of vaccine and 34.4% are fully vaccinated. Cases are down everywhere except near the southern border. Hopefully, covid in Canada will improve soon, too!
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runor--thanks. I have had a vaginal US in the past but not this go-round. I am not going to stress over the thickening since it has been noted a few times over the years since menopause and no one seems concerned because I'm not bleeding or having any other symptoms. I'll just wait till chemo is done and press for more testing.
For everyone getting their panties in a bunch over healthcare... no matter where you are or what type of care you have access to, there are going to be pluses and minuses. No need to start an international incident over which country has the superior healthcare because "superior healthcare" is a contradiction in terms. If you are lucky enough to get good care, then bully for you. Not everyone does.
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Jaycee49--I'm so sorry about your reaction to the vaccine and hopeful that those SEs will resolve themselves. Hugs to you. I have not had the vaccine because my MO suggested that I wait. I have upcoming scans and he doesn't want any false reads from possible vaccine-related issues and I agree with him. (I don't want any false reads, either!!)
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This is literally the getting panties in a bunch thread. It's our thread and we can rant if we want to 🎶 rant if we want to 🎶🎶
Spookiesmom - I missed that your dh passed. Sorry for your loss & for the stressful day
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Spookiesmom - A little change in TM given your recent loss? Probably stress. I'm sorry you're going through more.
Flashlight - Thank you! QC was hit hard early, but not as bad now. Hope this 3rd wave in Canada calms soon. Just worrying to see how quickly things went bad in India. Seriously jealous of New Zealand.
LW - That wasn't the intent. Chill.
moth - 🎶🎶🎶
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Spookiesmom:So sorry to hear of your husbands passing.
As far as Canadian vs American health care, they probably could both use a check up. HA HA
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Spookiesmom, I'm so sorry I missed any posts about your loss. My deepest sympathy to you and your family.
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My panties are not only in a bunch but I'm pretty sure on backwards and inside out. Worse, I think it's Canadians arguing with Canadians over the greatness or suckiness of our own medical system. Pretty soon hockey sticks and front teeth will be flying in every direction.! A stereotypical street brawl, Canuck style, eh? CAR!!
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runor, there is a long tradition of Canadians arguing with Canadians about healthcare issues. We all know that there are benefits to Canadian healthcare (and most of us wouldn't trade it) but also know that it is far from perfect.
My problem when these issues come up on this site is that the discussion inevitably adds fuel to the fire of non-Canadians who make it a habit of trashing something they know very little about. As you've agreed, your shots at the "Canadian Heathcare System" were too broad and not accurately directed at where the real problems lie (specific to the current issue you are facing). But it's too late, because I'll bet that your shots will end up in lots of other people's discussions when they talk about how horrible Canadian healthcare is. Your example will be held up as proof, supporting all the misconceptions and misunderstandings. These things take on a life of their own, and in 3 years there will be a story in The New York Times citing the example of a Canadian who had to wait 30 days for a pathology result for a possible uterine cancer. This is why I have always been so sensitive to these types of discussions on this site.
CAR! Ah, harkens back to childhood. (Maybe in this case, the CAR! is the non-Canadians.)
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Beesie and runor, speaking only for myself (an American sample of one) I have found this discussion very interesting. As the US struggles to address health care matters (universal coverage, expanding Medicare, etc) it's helpful to see how other nations handle these complicated issues. I think the unfortunate truth is that no system is perfect and that there are no easy solutions. I'm very grateful for what I have but it is costly, incredibly complicated and frustrating at times.
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Yeah this American doesn't think less of Canadian health care.
It's more that it's not my reality so the waits seem crazy to me. But the price I pay for my health care, and my deductibles and the way my insurance company makes so many decisions on treatments or tests no doubt seems equally crazy to you.
Honestly I hate that those who don't have money or a job w/ benefits are flat out screwed here. My older son has type 1 diabetes and for years, he worked for companies too small to be required to offer any benefits. Let me tell you, it's a disgrace what insulin costs in the US, never mind needles and testing strips. Truly disgraceful and because he has a disease like ours, that he did nothing to get, he was screwed.
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Spookie I, too, am so sorry to hear about your husband.
RE: Panties in a wad - I thought that's what this thread was all about. It's a STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER. Isn't this the place where we vent and rage amongst others who understand? Maybe we should start a thread - HAPPY THOUGHTS AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE CURES CANCER. Don't get me started on that one! haha
runor, your panty situation sounds very uncomfortable. Maybe it's time to go "commando"? Now, that's an idea. We start a thread for those of us who want to go commando. I don't know if you ever watched the sit-com called "Wings", but at one point one of the characters asks the question, "Who put pepper in HER panties?" I love that line.
Wishing you all a wad-free day. And if not, pull down those panties and flash the world!
Carol
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