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6450. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:07:30 AM You can feel malignancies once they get a certain size, that is. That's why if you feel something you need to go get an ultrasound and maybe a biopsy, because about 15% of cancers can't be detected in a mammogram, regardless of their size. 6451. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:09:21 AM BTW, I didn't go in for the pain but for my yearly exam. I was fairly certain the pain was a cyst, but the notices don't tell you where they find something, just that you need to schedule more tests. 6452. Magoseph - 3/31/2005 12:16:56 AM Thank you for the info, Arky--let us know what the doctor says tomorrow if you have the time, please. 6453. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 12:44:06 AM I sure will. Thanks so much for being concerned. I've thought a lot the last couple of days about how blessed I am with my rl and cyber friends. Having people to share things with--good or bad--is a wonderful thing.
I did learn a lot more today than I'd known before, and I thought it very helpful. Breast cancer is a real concern. We've all known people who've had it and some who've died from it, young and old. But the general public information tends to lack perspective, and that's what I got today. The radiologist said 15 in 100 mammograms get called back for more tests, but only 3 in 1000 are cancer. Still, mammograms are just the first level of screening, like colonoscopies or prostate exams or all those other fun things they tell you to do yearly after you reach a certain age. The last level is a biopsy, and a significant majority of them are benign. Breast cancer is also usually very treatable. He told me at my age I needed to start thinking much more about cardio-vascular disease (not now, but for the future) and working on adjusting my lifestyle to prepare for that risk. And he wasn't referring to me, specifically, but me as a 45 year old American female. Of course the benefit of doing that is it reduces the risks of lots of other things, as well, including a number of types of cancer.
So hopefully the next time I get called back for more tests I'll have a better handle on things, even though I'd already been told that being prone to cysts made mammogram abnormalities more likely. Of course I won't be planning a rush trip and a hysterectomy either, and that should help too. ;-) 6454. judithathome - 3/31/2005 1:01:09 AM Glad to hear the results were okay, Arky.
Now concentrate on your WVa trip and have a great drive...I'll bet it is really beautiful along the way! The differences around here are amazing, from just two weeks ago....green, green, green. 6455. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 1:07:02 AM Thanks Judith!
I'm excited about the trip. I keep trying to convince Bob that once we get there all he'll have to do is chill until we leave--you saw the schedule, so you know he'll have a lot of down time once he gets there while I go to all that stuff! I really think he'll love it once he sees how nice everything is in that part of the country. 6456. judithathome - 3/31/2005 1:24:59 AM I think so, too...he can walk a lot, which will not only be interesting but what he likes to do, anyhow. 6457. alistairconnor - 3/31/2005 10:07:46 AM Best wishes for your health issues Arky...
a woman's lot is not a happy one, there is no equality with respect to all that extra apparatus you people have...
... by contrast, most of modern men's health problems seem to be largely self-inflicted or discretionary. 6458. alistairconnor - 3/31/2005 10:12:58 AM I suggest you wrap that baby up in a papoose or pop him in a stroller and take him for a walk with you.
Rick, what I suggest is a backpack. As long as the kid is warm, it's an ideal means of transport, he can look over your shoulder and see the world from your point of view, or sleep happily and safely. From what I remember, 9 months is about the right starting age.
I had an excellent one with an aluminium frame, it had a fold-out strut so that you could take it off and put it down without taking the child out. It's amazing how that extended the range of activities I could share with the kid.
6459. thoughtful - 3/31/2005 2:33:18 PM Rick, I also suggest you invest some time in a food diary. A tip from weight watchers and I can vouch from personal experience how much unconscious eating we do. When we write down everything we eat including portions, it's a real eye opener. 6460. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 4:43:55 PM Thanks Alistair! Things should get a lot easier along that line relatively soon, and while we do have some extra baggage, so to speak, we still tend to live longer. Most of this stuff is more of an annoyance than anything. And I guess now I won't be going through menopause (which is what I thought all this was at first). I may be wrong about that--I'm not clear on all that stuff yet. 6461. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 4:45:35 PM Thoughtful's right. That's how I start every diet when I'm serious--write it down and the calories. And it's what Bob did when he lost so much weight. He doesn't do it now, since he's formed eating habits that make it unnecessary. Except he's eating out a bunch here lately and through this weekend trip. He'll get back on track Tuesday. 6462. thoughtful - 3/31/2005 4:48:45 PM arky, i'm no expert but i don't think you can avoid menopause...if they remove your ovaries you'll get menopause now. If they don't then you'll get it later.
And why do they call it menopause....shouldn't it be womanopause? shouldn't it be hersterectomy? 6463. arkymalarky - 3/31/2005 4:50:27 PM Oooh. Hmmmm. 6464. RickNelson - 4/2/2005 12:28:33 AM Thanks for the ideas thoughtful and alistair, I'm considering that papoose idea. I would use that diary system if I can find an easy one at Half-Price Books. I'll go soon and look.
It's good to be reading all are still trying to work on being healthy and or dealing with it.
Has anyone news why Marj isn't around? 6465. wonkers2 - 4/2/2005 4:15:29 PM Are doctors overpaid? How much money should a physician make? Here. 6466. alistairconnor - 4/11/2005 12:07:38 PM Excellent Krugman on health care reform 6467. thoughtful - 4/14/2005 2:36:44 PM NYT on Women and Heart Health and how women are still being undertreated for heart disease.
According to recently published studies in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, women are inadequately cared for in terms of preventing heart disease and in diagnosing and treating it....
It revealed that women at risk of developing heart disease were more likely than men to be assigned to a lower risk category and thus were less likely than men to receive recommendations to change their living habits and take medications to help prevent heart attacks.
What to do? Be proactive about your health. Know your numbers: HDL, LDL, triglycerides, BMI, blood pressure, blood glucose levels. Watch your weight and exercise 30 min a day. 6468. robertjayb - 4/15/2005 5:59:58 AM Krugman on the medical money pit...(NYTimes)
Let me rattle off some numbers.
In 2002, the latest year for which comparable data are available, the United States spent $5,267 on health care for each man, woman and child in the population. Of this, $2,364, or 45 percent, was government spending, mainly on Medicare and Medicaid. Canada spent $2,931 per person, of which $2,048 came from the government. France spent $2,736 per person, of which $2,080 was government spending.
Amazing, isn't it? U.S. health care is so expensive that our government spends more on health care than the governments of other advanced countries, even though the private sector pays a far higher share of the bills than anywhere else.
What do we get for all that money? Not much. 6469. thoughtful - 4/19/2005 6:05:26 PM Old food pyramid is out!
New food rainbow with emphasis on 30 min per day of exercise is in.
One big change is intended to help people control their portion sizes. The old pyramid explained its advice in ''serving'' sizes, but now, to make its advice more understandable, the government will switch to cups, ounces and other household measures.
The switch was recommended in a 70-page booklet, ''Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005,'' that was developed by a panel of scientists and doctors and released in January. As the basis for revising the pyramid, the guidelines emphasize choosing good carbohydrates over bad ones; for example, choosing bread made from whole-grain flour instead of white flour.
They also recommend eating 3 ounces of whole-grain foods a day; eating 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day; and drinking 3 cups of fat-free or lowfat milk a day.
Besides the suggested 30 minutes of daily exercise to reduce the risk of chronic disease, the government also advises even more exercise to prevent weight gain or maintain weight loss.
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