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At age 81 you've aged out of those screenings in any case.
Oh I know that but I have NOT done one in about 30 yrs...I've read your comments from MD, and what I'd expect to hear from an allopathic MD. Thanks and for me it's my body, my choice. And some of us count on antioxidants to keep us cancer free, I do.
Just in case you didn't know, Medicare will stop paying for these tests at a certain age because their bean counters have determined that if you actually had the cancer you were screening for it would not change your lifespan. You can find it and treat it or not find it and not treat it and they expect you to live the same amount of time, so they don't want to waste money on you.
Can't the health insurance company force you to have screenings - is not having regular screenings a cause for cancellation of one's policy? I was just wondering about that.
Just in case you didn't know, Medicare will stop paying for these tests at a certain age because their bean counters have determined that if you actually had the cancer you were screening for it would not change your lifespan. You can find it and treat it or not find it and not treat it and they expect you to live the same amount of time, so they don't want to waste money on you.
How could they say it won't change the life span? If something is caught early there are better options of treatment and less invasive stuff that needs to be done.
I don't view it as all or nothing. That seems like intentionally blinding oneself to some fixable problem. Depends on the purpose for the specific screen. I have chosen not to continue a couple of screens or do them less often but I did so after weighing my health history and risk factors (lifestyle, genetic, and environmental). There are other screens that make logical sense to continue, again weighing health history and risk factors. The decisions were mine to make. The risks of not catching something were mine to take too. So far no providers have objected. If it turns out that I was mistaken, well, ownership has to be taken. I'd never blame someone else for that.
Yes. I started researching all of these tests (mammogram, colonoscopy), and found that there are good reasons not to have them (won't go into details, if interested, do your own research - I don't subscribe to "groupthink" and mass marketing around these tests).
I regret that I ever had the above tests, ever (had around 3 or 4 mammograms and the same with colonoscopy - but I didn't know then what I learned, so I can't blame myself too much for my ignorance on the subject). I trusted people who were also ignorant.
Live and learn.
I'm with you on this. I know much more than I ever wanted to know about these so-called preventive tests. I just don't do them. And I am perfectly fine. My motto is: avoid doctors like the plague. All they ever want to do is tests, and prescribe boat loads of toxic medications. I refuse them all.
Sorry to confuse things, but this is only one set of guidelines by one group - there are obviously differing opinions even among physicians.
But in general and for most tests, the negatives of possible false positives outweigh the benefits at a certain age. You can continue to get them but they may or may not be covered by insurance. It's also possible that the time gained by early detection may not be much once you reach a certain age or that the disease likely won't kill you before you die of some other reason...so lots of things to consider.
Good post.
Note: the predictive strength of routine EKG is ZERO. It can be argued that routine mammography does nothing to increase survival in breast cancer-- you just know about your cancer longer.
Old 82 y/o Joe goes to the doc for his yearly physical. The doc exams him, does a few tests. He pats Joe on the back, shakes his hand and says, "Joe, you're in great shape!" and sends him on his way....The doc goes into the next room to see the next pt, but suddenly the nurse bursts into the room and in a panic exclaims, "Doctor, Joe just dropped dead on the way out the door! What should I do?"...The doc thinks for a minute, then says, "Turn him around so it looks like he's coming in."
Note: the predictive strength of routine EKG is ZERO. It can be argued that routine mammography does nothing to increase survival in breast cancer-- you just know about your cancer longer.
Old 82 y/o Joe goes to the doc for his yearly physical. The doc exams him, does a few tests. He pats Joe on the back, shakes his hand and says, "Joe, you're in great shape!" and sends him on his way....The doc goes into the next room to see the next pt, but suddenly the nurse bursts into the room and in a panic exclaims, "Doctor, Joe just dropped dead on the way out the door! What should I do?"...The doc thinks for a minute, then says, "Turn him around so it looks like he's coming in."
An EKG isn’t a predictive test. It is meant to show what is happening in your body right now. If you are asymptomatic, it isn’t going to show any problems. As for knowing about breast cancer longer, that can certainly help if it means the difference between stage I and stage III.
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