Won't you please do this for OMC's wife and millions of other American women

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

who are facing or will face breast cancer surgery?

Please help outlaw "drive-through mastectomies" by signing a petition asking Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act. This bill would allow a woman and her doctor to decide whether she should recuperate for at least 48 hours in the hospital or whether she has enough support to get quality care at home following this emotionally and physically difficult surgery.

Lifetime TV has a petition drive here: http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

I got the link from a colleague whose mother endured two mastectomies. Her e-mail contained this message from a nurse:

"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(s). 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.

"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."

Can you imagine begging for enough time to heal after undergoing such a devastating procedure? I got this e-mail yesterday and today I saw that OperationMindControl's wife is going in tomorrow (well, today) for a mastectomy:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=6784020&mesg_id=6784020

So send Mrs. OMC some good vibes and do something positive for all women. It takes TEN SECONDS to sign this petition, so please click on the link and do it now. Thanks!

http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

[AllyCat]

1. Signed and recommended. n/t

[Skittles]

2. signed in honor of Stacey and recommended

yes INDEED

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Done....K&R

And a pox on all insurance companies!

We need single payer insurance NOW!:grr:

[cynatnite]

4. done n/t

[EFerrari]

5. Done. K&R

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. Signed and recommended n/t

[mzmolly]

7. Oh OMC, I'm so sorry. Signed, kicked and recommended.

To OMC and his wife > :hug:

[Gelliebeans]

8. Happy to do it

In memory of my Grandmother 8-30-06.

Good vibes sent to Mrs. OMC.

[Gloria]

9. Done. Barbarism executed by insurance companies....

kick and recommend

[IChing]

10. OK

I will do it for her and send her the best vibes
I can.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DogandPony]

11. My father died of prostate cancer

Men are dying of protate cancer at a greater rate than women are dying of breast cancer. I just don't want them to be forgotten.

[cynatnite]

12. I'm sorry about your father, but this thread is about OMC's wife...

if you're so worried about men being forgotten, I suggest you start a new thread stating as such. For the record...my father died of cancer, too.

[DogandPony]

13. Oh, I'm sorry I misread

So many times I hear about breast cancer and it makes me think of my dad dying of prostate cancer and that kind of cancer not getting the attention it deserves.

[cynatnite]

14. That's okay...

honest mistake. :)

You can edit your post if you'd like. I believe there is still time.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[DogandPony]

16. Actually I think I will leave it

Both men and women need our help and both cancers should be publicized. Thanks

[iverglas]

24. unbelievable

[DogandPony]

29. Why?

How can you be against that?

[hfojvt]

19. that is not true

in 2007, of 218,890 cases of prostate cancer, there were 27,050 deaths of 178,480 cases of breast cancer, there were 40,460 deaths.

[wicket]

26. Thanks for the stats

:hi:

[Name removed]

30. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Gemini Cat]

17. signed & sending pet to others

:kick:

[FloridaJudy]

18. Signed in honour of Mrs. OMC

And my mother, my sister, and my grandmother, who also had breast cancer and survived. Also in honour of my best friend, who died of this disease.

Two days is barely time to recover, but it's better than too many women have.

[China_cat]

20. As the insurance company would say, if they could without

being lynched for it:

"What are they complaining about? They should be happy that we'll pay for it on an outpatient basis. We don't even have to do that you know."

[bonito]

21. Done

[OzarkDem]

22. Its partial urban myth

There's never been a documented case of this happening. The facts are also contrary to current studies. The decision is between women and their doctors.

Interestingly enough, this online campaign gets revived every year when breast cancer activists are trying to move the BCERA (Breast Cancer & Environmental Research Act) through Congress, a bill that has been stalled for 6 years now.

Not sure if its a coincidence, but it was pointed out to me by a health reporter from one of the national daily newspapers.

Its not likely this bill will pass, its too flawed. And if it did it wouldn't accomplish anything.

You can help breast cancer patients even more by lobbying for universal access to affordable health care. Over 35,000 women every year are diagnosed with breast cancer who have no health insurance at all.

I would also encourage you to sign this petition for the Breast Cancer & Environmental Research Act. Thanks!:

http://www.lesspinkmoreresearch.org/

[wicket]

23. Signed & praying for OMC & Stacey

:loveya:

[tom_paine]

25. K & R for I wonder how many OTHER procedures this is true for

:shrug:

[tom_paine]

27. K & R

[babylonsister]

28. Rec'd. All too true, and imo, inhumane.Mrs. OMC, my

thoughts are with you today.

[AwakeAtLast]

31. Done

Thanks for the information! :hi:

[lumberjack_jeff]

32. Best wishes to the OMC family. n/t

[spoony]

34. Done and k and r

Is 48 hours even enough? I'm stunned at how quickly they shove people out the door.

[GardeningGal]

35. I signed it yesterday.

It's appalling what insurance companies will do to improve their bottom line.

[SeattleGirl]

36. Signed. n/t

[iverglas]

37. just for information -- re universal health care

As someone mentioned, obviously this is the long-term solution to problems caused by cost-cutting insurers. But practice and opinion about the need for overnight hospital stays for mastectomy seem to vary independently of that factor.

This is the info provided by a hospital in Toronto on its website:

http://www.mtsinai.on.ca/MKBC/Programs_and_Services/surgical.htm

Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre
Surgical Services

If surgery (such as the removal of a lump for diagnosis or treatment) is required, it is done as day surgery either in the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre under a local anaesthetic, or in the Ambulatory Surgery Centre under general anaesthesia. In both cases, the patient returns home the same day after a short period of observation. Laboratory (pathology) results will be available in 5 to 10 days.

If surgery for a tumour is required, the patient is admitted to the hospital on the morning of the surgery and stays over 1 or 2 nights, depending on the nature of the surgery. Every attempt is made to treat tumours by conservative means (lumpectomy instead of mastectomy) and this is possible in over 75% of patients. Prior to admission to the hospital the findings of the investigations, the reasons for the proposed treatment and all the treatment options are carefully discussed with the patient. Support groups, psychiatric and social work services are part of the Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre and are available to aid the patient and family in coping with issues related to diagnosis and treatment.

This is a general women's health site in Canada:
http://www.womensweb.ca/health/breast/mastectomy.php

Following surgery, you will be required to stay in hospital two to three days, although some patients, namely those who have had breast reconstruction surgery in addition to mastectomy, may stay in hospital up to one week before being discharged. Before you are discharged from hospital, you will be given instructions on: ...

However -- browsing around and trying to find info, which is somewhat scarce, it seems that mastectomy is done as day surgery in some cases here too:

http://www.abcn.ca/artman2/publish/Tests_amp_Treatment_52/Surgery_101.html

Surgery for breast cancer is a very major psychological issue, but it is not a major physical issue. It is not for example like having your chest open to remove a lung or having your abdomen open to remove a piece of bowel. The breast is situated very superficially and therefore can be totally or partially removed without affecting internal organs. So there is no interference with breathing, coughing, eating, etc. It is not usually felt to be a very painful procedure. On the other hand, when an axillary dissection is done, a drain is usually left in place and the large dressings interfere with movements and this part of the procedure is definitely more painful. If only a sentinel node is done, then there is very little pain. The hospital stay can be very short: Day surgery or admission of 24 to 48 hrs. The total recuperation will depend on whether or not there are other treatments.

Whether breast reconstruction is done at the same time seems to be a major factor, in which case the hospital stay is apparently usually longer than 2 days. (Breast reconstruction is covered by the provincial plan.)

I might just note that the longer a patient is in hospital, the greater the risk of contracting a hospital infection. That is one medical reason for keeping hospital stays as short as possible.




The numbers here:
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:prbijBX6ZpoJ:www.ices.on.ca/file/Access_atlas_2nd_ed_Chpt_7.ppt+mastectomy+days+hospital&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=15&gl=ca
(cached html version of some noxious powerpoint thing I didn't want to open)
seem to indicate that that median wait times for a mastectomy in Ontario a couple of years ago were a little under a month. Another site I looked at, a different province I think, said that surgery would be scheduled within 2 weeks of the first visit to the surgeon.

[annabanana]

38. done, K&R. . . . . . n/t

[maddezmom]

39. Thanks for the link, signed it and sent it off to a few members of my family

Best wished to Mrs. OMC and others in the same situation.

[MasonJar]

40. Done, thanks for the posting!

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

41. Thank you all so much, and remember: please share the link!!!

On behalf of women across the country, thanks to you all. Your goodness knows no bounds.

Hope these lovely flowers express my appreciation :loveya: