Not How It Should Be

I think that this article in today's WaPo does a good job of showing the problems that people who aren't Elizabeth Edwards run into trying to get basic breast care. As the article explains, when the author needed to find a good doctor for a second opinion, she didn't even know where to start looking: I turned to a high-powered lawyer acquaintance of mine whose breast cancer was diagnosed last year. She pointed me to a breast radiologist who was both clinically skilled and would treat me with dignity. High-powered lawyers don't tend to take unkindness or disrespect lying down. It's fantastic that Ms. Edwards has the money and connections to get what everyone assumes must be the best care available. And it's terrifying that, even with that care, her breast cancer spread to other spots in her body as quickly as it has. And that simply emphasizes the need for all women to get top notch breast care.

As the author in this piece says: This journey has really opened my eyes. Even with all my advantages, I still have had to fight for the health care I have been told is best for me.

The Right Friends

What if I were uneducated? What if I were poor? What if I grew up with more people who became firefighters or police officers or home health aides than doctors, so I had no doctor friend to call and explain things to me -- to tell me that lymph nodes don't migrate? What if I did not have health insurance or the money to pay for my own tests if the insurance did not cover them? What if I did not know that I could fight for the health care I believe is best for me?

It seems clear to me now why poor people are reported to die from treatable illnesses in higher numbers than those in the middle class. To navigate the health-care system, in addition to having health insurance, you need to know the players, you need to know your rights, you need to have good advice available to you from people who are both medically educated and interested in your well-being, you need to have money to pay your way, and you need to be willing and able to advocate for what you need.

I'll just add that the author sooo needs a new gynocologist. Anyone who would say what this doctor said about her patient's dream needs a different job. That dream would have me demanding third and fourth opinions.