a few weeks ago i noticed some sharp pains in my right breast. then last week i noticed a burning/stinging pain on the underside of the same breast. i did some online research while waiting for my numerous phone calls to be returned. the good news: breast cancer rarely presents with pain. the bad news: i'm uninsured, not 40 (though i am 39 years, 6 months and 3 weeks old) and poor.
it took 3 hours at the neighborhood clinic, an exam and a week before i was able to get a referral to yet another clinic. i go in the morning for a mammogram and possibly an ultrasound (to the tune of $400). THIS is why we need the ACA.
if i didn't have a little money in the bank from my grandmother's estate i would be unable to get these tests. it's abhorrent to me that i might die before i could get these tests just because i'm 6 months too young. i'm 39. my grandmother had a double-mastectomy at 39. my aunt had breast cancer in her 20s.
no matter, i will pay the $400 and get health insurance in january whether i have breast cancer (AKA a pre-existing condition) or not.
take THAT republicans!
grace and peace
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