The Affordable Care Act has given many more people access to medical care, so recently I have seen many more patients who have not been able to seek out the care of a doctor in years.
One example is when I recently completed a Pap exam on a lady who last had one at the birth of her son 24 years ago! What bad thing will I see?… I wondered, a bit anxious for the patient. Blessedly, other than her obesity issue
she had a normal exam.
Another nice middle aged lady was not as fortunate. She came in saying she had ‘hemorrhoids issues’ for the past 7 or so years and more recently thought she had developed a groin hernia. I was the first medical provider she had been able to see in nearly a decade.
During the exam however, her rectal check showed that the patient had been grossly underestimating her symptoms . What she thought were hemorrhoids was actually a large ugly rectal mass that turned out to be a malignancy (rectal cancer to be premise).
That groin hernia was actually a large swollen lymph node due to the cancer spreading there. Though late in getting her diagnosis, with immediate surgery, chemotherapy and radiation she is now recovering with her colostomy.
She can be modestly optimistic of her prognosis as she is only in her mid 40’s and has no other medical issues. She got her life saving health insurance just in the nick of time.
Though I have my hang ups about the whole ACA “Obamacare” policies (everyone has a right to her opinion), one thing I know from my own practice already is that in the past year or so since it has been up and running, it has already saved hundreds of lives and is preventing an immeasurable amount of disease from happening in the future.
Hmmm, could this doctor be wrong after all?
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1.Why am I always wet “down there”?
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3.What the color of your poop says about you
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5.How shaving could make you sick
Dear Dr. Carol,
I agree with you about the ACA being a good thing for those who so badly needed care. My concern is the partisan manner in which it was done. Hopefully in the future it can be reworked so as to be more acceptable to everyone.
Thank you for the wonderful care you give to your patients. Your caring ways, experience and expertise are so appreciated by all whose lives you touch.
I hope your mother continues to do well in her recuperation.
Sincerely,
Judi Parker
Thanks for all your well wishes. Mom is doing better.