Exams never again

[evening sun]

I hope everyone is healthy now. But never say never!

[jazzcat22]

I decided not to get mammograms or colonoscopies anymore. I am 70. I don’t have a death wish. My diet and exercise program show I care about my body. But I care about m6 health span, not my life span. Now that I am widowed, I don’t have to get these tests and any needed treatment to stay alive a little longer, just t8 be around fo4 my husband.

I am reading an interesting nonfiction book, Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich. She has a doctorate in science and feels that much of testing and treatment causes suffering without appreciably extending life and certainly not adding quality to life. She gets a little overblown, even likening colonoscopies to sexual assault! But there is a lot of thought provoking info.

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by DeepImpact

When I had my first colonoscopy, I brought the pics home to prove to Wifey that my head's not up there

Well, we still have to wonder...since your screen ne Is: DEEP impact.

Actually an impacted colon might require surgery.

So..did you tell your doctor: " please go DEEP, give Me pics so I can have an IMPACT on my wife?"

Listen people, when it comes to healthcare, you ARE going to lose not a little dignity...but A LOT of dignity.

I've learned a little humor is needed in certain instances.

My old urologist (who treated my father's prostate cancer...and as my grandfather also had prostate cancer, you betcha he was thorough with me) anyway, one day after the Q&A part asked me to drop trou. As he got ready to "get busy down there" I decided to break the pure monotony that always happened.
Now this man is so straight laced professional you'd think he NEVER even smiles....so I said to him ' I'll show you mine if you show me yours'.
He looked up at me, smiled ear to ear and broke out in a hearty laugh!!
I'd never before saw him smile let alone laugh, and never saw him smile or laugh again.

I was just in the hospital ER just a few days ago.
They wanted a Doppler ultrasound of my legs, as heartbeat in my feet can no longer be felt especially as my Congestive Heart Failure is advancing.
She was working on the inside crease of my hip, pressing hard and trying with the wand unsuccessfully to move er um 'parts' out of the way. As she was pressing too hard on those part in the way, I said ' pause for a minute, and I'll move the monster out of the way'!
I think she laughed the entire rest of the exam! And she had to finish that left leg and then do the right (and again, I moved the monster the other way)
She regained her composure momentarily and said ' here's a towel for you to wipe up with.'
But, I said ' I've learned to have a sense of humor where such things in healthcare are concerned when you lose your dignity'.
She broke up laughing again and was still laughing as she wheeled the machine out of the room!!

OP, as a male I've had all sorts of things you'd never imagine pushed, pulled, inserted and (hopefully) extracted in places you can't imagine in ways you can't imagine.

Develop a sense of humor about it and go about your business
It's "All in a Days Work" to them!

Best

[Sand&Salt]

Originally Posted by Luis Antonio

You have to take this as it was written: with humor and a bit of sarcasm. otherwise you don't understand it.

A percentage of us got that you were being humorous. Kind of clever, actually. But people will pile on.

There is indignity and increasingly so in old age. But what can you do?

[Sand&Salt]

Originally Posted by MarisaAnna

Well the exam many of us here dread is not medical. It is the test, both practical and theoretical, which is required to be taken to keep our Drivers Licence. In our state everyone must either take it at the age of 85 or opt, as many do, to have a restricted licence, where you can only travel about 5 miles from home.

But having found out only this week that our very close friend of forty years has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, I find myself taking a different attitude to medical screening.

Actually what I most dislike is the dermatologist screening, needed by me as a red-head in the country with the world’s highest rate of skin cancer. I hate having stuff frozen off and cut off my face. Not embarrassing but certainly not pleasant.

I hear ya, Marisa. I developed skin cancer living down here, though probably most of it was from my misspent youth, lol. A Scandinavian on the equator does not compute----

They don't use liquid nitrogen here, unbelievably! They BURN your pre-cancerous stuff off. So there's lidocaine for every spot. So I wait for our annual visits to SoCal for dermatology work. Sure, it's 10X more expensive, but oh well.

In the grand scheme of things, derm work is the least objectionable, to me.

And yes, I'll admit to 4 colonoscopies and since I had polyps every time, glad I did. Nothing to mess around with.

[Luis Antonio]

Originally Posted by jazzcat22

I decided not to get mammograms or colonoscopies anymore. I am 70. I don’t have a death wish. My diet and exercise program show I care about my body. But I care about m6 health span, not my life span. Now that I am widowed, I don’t have to get these tests and any needed treatment to stay alive a little longer, just t8 be around fo4 my husband.

It's one thing to risk sudden death and quite another to develop colon cancer. That is why we must choose the lesser evil. It's not fear to die; It is fear of suffering and being a heavy burden to our loved ones.

P.S. For someone like me who can barely read English, those intermediate numbers are indecipherable

[Spuggy]

Originally Posted by Luis Antonio

You have to take this as it was written: with humor and a bit of sarcasm. otherwise you don't understand it.

Gotcha well humour and sarcasm certainly helps as we navigate getting older

[galaxyhi]

The OP should look up "Medical Sounds" (it's not what you think!!)

Then see how those Sounds are used when it comes to males.

I'll bet he'll faint dead away!!

(PS they can be used where women are concerned as well)

Best

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Luis Antonio

It's one thing to risk sudden death and quite another to develop colon cancer. That is why we must choose the lesser evil. It's not fear to die; It is fear of suffering and being a heavy burden to our loved ones.

P.S. For someone like me who can barely read English, those intermediate numbers are indecipherable

The numbers look like typing errors to me.

[considerforamoment]

The exams you reference are million/billion dollar industries. I think individual prevention in the form of diet, exercise, healthy lifestyle are much more valuable.

I put a provision into my advanced health care directive that I won't be performing the mental/cognitive tests docs give to elderly patients.