Breast cancer petition

Chinniechantel · Jun 18, 2009

I got this in an email and thought it would be great to post here and get more names. How sad what they do to women who just had a masectomy. This is a bill to help keep women in the hospital for 2 days after a masectomy instead of sending them home that day.

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

Tiatrack · Jun 18, 2009

Chinniechantel said:
I got this in an email and thought it would be great to post here and get more names. How sad what they do to women who just had a masectomy. This is a bill to help keep women in the hospital for 2 days after a masectomy instead of sending them home that day.

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

So as a data geek, I have to ask if this truly is "sad." Is there evidence that sending people home quickly has worse outcomes? Hospitals are places of disease and infection, so it is often in the best interest of the patient to send them home quickly and do outpatient checkups. It is also easier to rest and get sleep in the peace and quiet of your own familiar home.

Chinniechantel · Jun 18, 2009

If they had a choice it would be different. They are scared, just lost their breast(s) and don't even know how to deal with that. Trauma is not even enough to describe how they must feel. I just had a lump removed from my breast and it was outpatient, I can't imagine dealing with a breast REMOVAL and leaving an hour later. That is crazy. I was scared and they did not tell me anything, or follow up. My surgeon called 10 days later. Thank goodness nothing was wrong or I could have gotten worse. It makes me mad that they can't even properly teach people how to care for themselves before sending them home.

Tiatrack · Jun 18, 2009

Chinniechantel said:
If they had a choice it would be different. They are scared, just lost their breast(s) and don't even know how to deal with that. Trauma is not even enough to describe how they must feel. I just had a lump removed from my breast and it was outpatient, I can't imagine dealing with a breast REMOVAL and leaving an hour later. That is crazy. I was scared and they did not tell me anything, or follow up. My surgeon called 10 days later. Thank goodness nothing was wrong or I could have gotten worse. It makes me mad that they can't even properly teach people how to care for themselves before sending them home.

While I truly feel for your position (and I do!), this isn't data. Nor would any of your complaints be rectified by a 2 day hospital stay. EVERY hospital should be teaching patients how to care for themselves at home, regardless of outpatient surgeries or 2-day hospital stays. We all know that doesn't always happen, which is why I think every patient should have a medical advocate on their side (friend, spouse, parent, whatever) to ask questions. Being in the midst of surgery is scary, so having a level-headed person there to help you is always a good idea.

Laurie · Jun 18, 2009

As a sister who's had a sister who's had a double mastectomy I can 100% say this procedurie SHOULD NOT be an outpatient procedure. Sure hospitals have disease. But there is immense pain that follows this procedure. There is a traumatized female patient, there is a traumatized family, because let's face it you have just learned your sister, mother, wife has breast cancer and now her breasts are being removed. Whether as women we want to believe this or not, the truth is a woman breasts define us. We often don't like ours we say we'd like them to be gone or we wish they were bigger, but breast removal is incredibly shocking.
You dont' just have a "flat" chest--you have no chest! You have no small bumps, no nipples. You have a huge scar and nothing.
Cancer and it's treatments are heinous! Chemotherapy should not be an outpatient procedure. Chemo is poison that courses through your body, ravaging not just the cancer but healthy cells and tissues as well. So you are filled with this poison then sent on your way.
Unbelievable.
And my sister did stay over night--she was much too weak and frail to go home after this procedure and her doctor said she needed to say. Unfortunately so many people don't have the great insurance to allow a stay over night instead of same day surgery.
My final thoughts are President Obama has declared a war on cancer--well then Prez put up or shut up!We've been talking healthcare reform for years, let's focus less on making sure every man gets viagra if he needs it and get benefits to those in dire need, like cancer patients and pediatric patients.

Chinniechantel · Jun 18, 2009

Data is sometimes crap. Maybe this will help you understand. You cannot rule the world or help people in pain with pure statistics. My first surgeon told me my lump in my breast was not causing my, to not even get a biopsy done. Data says young women my age, in shape, no family history- well they don't get breast cancer. And breast cancer does not hurt. Ok. Well, that is not always the case and if I did not fight for a surgery I would still be in pain, and could have had cancer spreading through my body. I am sorry, but data is not always correct or applicable to your situation and I am sick of doctors telling me that it is.

This was part of the email:

Please take the time to send in your support. I did it, and it took only a minute. It can help make a difference. Karen
Proposed Mastectomy Law Change
(written by a surgeon) ;

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 patient 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.

This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women.

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. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There's 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.