health care

Yearly mammogram – gotta love ‘em

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At my yearly or semi-yearly exam last year, my doctor, an internist, recommended a procedure I haven’t had for six years and have come to hate, the yearly mammogram.  The reason for my disdain is the excruciating pain the technicians put you through to get a “good enough” x-ray of your breasts.  I have had three of these vice-like gripping exams and did not want another.  I even asked my doctor if he had ever had one.  He of course answered, “No.”  I told him, “When you go and have one and see what it is like, then I will go and endure another one.”  That was last year.

breast diagnostic center
UC Health in Fort Collins, Photo by slc

Earlier this year, I discovered my oldest sister was diagnosed with early breast cancer due to a 2D mammogram.  Protocol was to have surgery and then chemo and radiation therapy.  Well, since my mother has had advanced breast cancer for over a decade, and now my sister, I felt it might be time to make that dreaded mammogram appointment.  When I called, the soonest I could get in was in three months. My appointment for my mammogram was scheduled for the end of August, two days after my 63rd birthday.

I did a little research and asked around at my Bible study coffee group about the difference between a 2D and a 3D mammogram.  One good friend and expert, former nurse and breast cancer survivor, recommended the 3D exam because it is more thorough so you would not need to go back for a retake if something looks suspicious.  My insurance would totally cover the 2D procedure.  Unfortunately, the 3D procedure costs more as insurance companies are not covering it fully yet.

yearly mammogram
Before mammogram, Photo by slc

So for $115 more out of pocket, I went for the 3D exam for the first time.  Wow, what a difference.  I felt very little pressure from the machine and the six pictures took less than 10 seconds each.  I was In and out of the x-ray room in only a couple of minutes. If I knew how to cartwheel I would have done one down the hall. 

With my family history of breast cancer, I will begin having my yearly 3D mammogram.  I think having it around my birthday each year is a great birthday present.  How about you?  Have you had your yearly mammogram?  You just gotta love ‘em.

By the way, my results were negative.  Woohoo!

(Update: My insurance paid for the 3D exam)

“Women ages 45 to 54 should have a mammogram each year and those 55 years and over should continue getting mammograms every 1 to 2 years. However, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends mammograms for women between the ages of 50 and 74 every two years.”      

 

Who will be your caregiver if and when you need one?

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Baby Boomer Caregiver
AP Photo/Annie Rice

This is a question I think about from time to time.  I have one married daughter.  Her mother-in-law (mom of three) and I are both divorced, so we will be aging alone in our homes.  Our siblings do not live in our state.  Health care and financial support are already issues for both of us.  When I read the following article I couldn’t help but think of those of us who are solo seniors…

As Baby Boomers Move Into Old Age, Who Will Care For Us?

by Jody Gastfriend, Forbes.com

August 10, 2018

“My high school buddies and I recently got together and reminisced about old times. “Can you believe we’re 60?” we howled. “That used to seem really old!” Many of us are still caring for parents who have crossed the 90-year-old threshold. As we joked about our aging bodies—the creaky knees and achy joints—we mused about another topic too. Who will care for us as we grow old? Will our adult children with their busy lives assume the role of caregiver? And will the childless among us rely on nieces, nephews, friends or neighbors to step in?

When it comes to the growing demand for caregiving, the numbers just don’t add up. The United States, like many industrialized countries, is looking down the barrel of a looming care gap. As my fellow Baby Boomers move headlong into old age — we are now retiring at a rate of about 10,000 per day — there may not be enough caregivers to go around. The potential pool of family caregivers, whose stories I tell in my book, My Parent’s Keeper, will not sustain the growing demand for care. An estimated 117 million Americans will need assistance of some kind by 2020, yet the number of unpaid caregivers is expected to reach only 45 million. The caregiver support ratio, the number of potential family caregivers relative to the number of older Americans, is projected to decline sharply by mid-century.

Where have all the caregivers gone?”   Read more

“Pre-hospice” program called Transitions

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pre-hospice
Photo by Heidi de Marco/KHN

‘Pre-Hospice’ Saves Money By Keeping People At Home Near The End Of Life

By Anna Gorman, Kaiser Health News

“Gerald Chinchar isn’t quite at the end of life, but the end is not far away. The 77-year-old fell twice last year, shattering his hip and femur, and now gets around his San Diego home in a wheelchair. His medications fill a dresser drawer, and congestive heart failure puts him at high risk of emergency room visits and long hospital stays.

Chinchar, a Navy veteran who loves TV Westerns, said that’s the last thing he wants. He still likes to go watch his grandchildren’s sporting events and play blackjack at the casino. ‘If they told me I had six months to live or go to the hospital and last two years, I’d say leave me home,’ Chinchar said. ‘That ain’t no trade for me.’

Most aging people would choose to stay home in their last years of life. But for many, it doesn’t work out: They go in and out of hospitals, getting treated for flare-ups of various chronic illnesses. It’s a massive problem that costs the health care system billions of dollars and has galvanized health providers, hospital administrators and policymakers to search for solutions.

Sharp HealthCare, the San Diego health system where Chinchar receives care, has devised a way to fulfill his wishes and reduce costs at the same time. It’s a pre-hospice program called Transitions, designed to give elderly patients the care they want at home and keep them out of the hospital.”

Read more about this pre-hospice program

Geriatricians–Would you, or someone you know, benefit from seeing one?

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Geriatricians
(iStock)

Geriatricians Can Help Aging Patients Navigate Multiple Ailments

By Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News

“For months, Teresa Christensen’s 87-year-old mother, Genevieve, complained of pain from a nasty sore on her right foot. She stopped going to church. She couldn’t sleep at night. Eventually, she stopped walking except when absolutely necessary.

Her primary care doctor prescribed three antibiotics, one after another. None worked.

“Doctor, can’t we do some further tests?” Teresa Christensen remembered asking. “I felt that he was looking through my mother instead of looking at her.”

Referred to a wound clinic, Genevieve was diagnosed with a venous ulcer, resulting from poor circulation in her legs. A few weeks ago, she had a successful procedure to correct the problem and returned home to the house where she’s lived for more than 50 years in Cottage Grove, Minn., a suburb of St. Paul.

Would her mother benefit from seeing a geriatrician going forward, wondered Christensen, her mother’s primary caregiver, in an email to me? And, if so, how would she go about finding one?

I reached out to several medical experts, and they agreed that a specialist in geriatrics could help a patient like Genevieve, with a history of breast cancer and heart failure, who’d had open heart surgery at age 84 and whose mobility was now compromised.”

Read more about geriatricians

Find a Geriatrics Healthcare Professional

The founder/author of LivingLifeRetired.com is not related to Teresa Christensen.

A second opinion may give you peace of mind

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second opinion
texasmedicalconcierge.com

When to Get a Second Opinion

by Nellie S. Huang for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine

December 2016

“Your doctor has just diagnosed you with a serious disease, or recommended a costly procedure, or advised you to have major surgery. Before panicking or following a drastic course of treatment, get a second opinion. Not only can a medical evaluation from a different doctor help you learn more about your illness, the options available to you, and the risks and benefits of each path, but it can also ‘give you the confidence and peace of mind that you’re making a good decision,’ says Robert Nielsen, medical director of PinnacleHealth System in central Pennsylvania.

Most insurance policies will cover the fee for a second opinion as they would cover a regular office visit, but it’s always wise to check with your insurer before you schedule the appointment, especially if you plan to go out of network. ‘In some cases, such as certain elective surgical procedures, a second opinion is mandatory,’ says John Ulatowski, vice president and executive medical director of Johns Hopkins Medicine International, in Baltimore.

Ask for referrals from people you trust—your primary care physician, the doctor who delivered your first opinion, your family and friends. Avoid seeing a colleague at the same practice or medical center as the doctor who gave you the first opinion—the approach to care can vary from place to place. For example, ‘some cancer centers are more aggressive about treatment; others are more concerned about side effects,’ says Jerome Groopman, Recanati Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

For cases that involve a specific procedure—for example, heart-valve replacement surgery—consult a doctor who frequently performs those surgeries.”   Read more