Women and the Medical Industry - Page 3

[The Lucky One]

As an RN with over 5 yrs of long-term care experience I can attest to the fact that 'old' women DO get yearly pap smears in nursing homes.

mamaintheboonies, if you are trying to prove a point here, you're going to have to give solid data to back up what you are asserting. So far, you haven't.

[~member~]

Originally Posted by The Lucky One

As an RN with over 5 yrs of long-term care experience I can attest to the fact that 'old' women DO get yearly pap smears in nursing homes.

mamaintheboonies, if you are trying to prove a point here, you're going to have to give solid data to back up what you are asserting. So far, you haven't.

Maybe in your Nursing Home. The Nursing Home I visited had one male P.A. who refused to do such invasive and damaging tests on his patients. He personnally does blood and urine tests on his patients.

Why is everyone so bent on having "solid data"?

How long have Native Americans been smoking tobacco? Do you think we never had cancers before the "white" man arrived?

Do you think cancer is only found in America? There is an entire world out there who have been studying and treating cancer for thousands and thousands of years.

[~member~]

I think it is time for people to stop being so narrow-minded and realize that we women can change the medical industry to best suit our needs and wants.

Not too long ago it was okay to lobotomize people. Parents and doctor's changed that and now there are medications to treat the same types of people who were being lobotomized.

Yes. some lobotomies still occur. They are only done as a last resort by Psychosurgeons. ( : I used to want to be a Psychosurgeon).

[party_of_seven]

mamaintheboonies~ This whole thread is just ridiculous.

For starters, the major cause for cervical cancer is HPV....a sexually transmitted disease. It is not hereditary. It doesn't matter if your mom or sisters or grandmother never had it...you still can. I believe its something like 1 in 4 that are carriers for HPV...this is a big deal. If you have had 4 sexual partners then you have a pretty high risk of contracting HPV...thus you have a high risk of getting cervical cancer. If 10 minutes with your legs in the stirrups will save your life then I think its pretty important.

We as women are pretty important. We are normally the primary caretakers of our children. Its important for us to stay healthy.

I don't think that there is anything "empowering" about spreading misinformation about women's bodies, burying your head in the sand, and turning your nose up to routine medical exams. Frankly, its a slap in the face to the thousands of women who have been saved by an early diagnosis....do you really think that they would be better off had they never known???? :

Maybe you can start posting some links where you are finding this information so we can try to take you seriously.

[party_of_seven]

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies

Why is everyone so bent on having "solid data"?

How long have Native Americans been smoking tobacco? Do you think we never had cancers before the "white" man arrived?

Do you think cancer is only found in America? There is an entire world out there who have been studying and treating cancer for thousands and thousands of years.

[KateMary]

Originally Posted by party_of_six

Maybe you can start posting some links where you are finding this information so we can try to take you seriously.

:

It scares me that some women might read mamaintheboonies' opinions and think that she really doesn't need a yearly exam after all. There are a lot of women that don't get them because they are uncomfortable or ashamed of their bodies. Its not empowering to not get an exam. Opinions (that are not backed up with facts) that its not needed may make them think its okay to pass on an exam that might save their life. Many people are too scared to go to the doctor cause deep down they are afraid to find out something is wrong, they don't need another excuse to not go.

[EFmom]

Why is everyone bent on having solid data? Huh? What should we ask for? Anecdotes? Speculation? Testamonies? Snake oil commercials?

This is our health, and our lives you are talking about. It is also the well being of our children. I don't think solid data is too much to ask for.

You claim to have cured yourself of some type of cancer. That's fabulous. Some cancers will spontaneously go into remission. But the vast majority of people I know who have spurned conventional cancer therapy for alternative cures have died pretty quickly.

[~member~]

No where did I say to not have a yearly exam. I have no idea why you are even suggesting that.
I am saying that it is time to quit letting our bodies be abused by the medical industry.

If you research cervical cancer, every study says they don't know what causes it or why. Yes, HPV may or may not have something to do with it, but all evidence is inconclusive.

As you can read in the link below, MN is already looking for more accurate and less invasive ways for testing for cervical cancer.
MN Department of Health

[queen bee]

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies

Also, I have grown up learning my traditional ways of healing. Not just covering symptoms but actual healing of the body.
Have I myself had cancer? Yes. Did I seek out Western medicine to cure me? No. Am I cured? Yes.

And you also recently posted that you smoked and drank an iced mocha every day of your first pregnancy because you had no idea that smoking and consuming large quantities of caffeine during pregnancy could be harmful. I guess a few things fell through the cracks in your traditional ways of healing?

[~member~]

Originally Posted by EFmom

You claim to have cured yourself of some type of cancer. That's fabulous.

No where did I say I cured myself. I didn't. I was doctored by a medicine woman. Do I know the cure? No.
I was just happy to not have uterine cancer anymore and went on to have three children instead of a hysterectomy and chemotherapy.

[~member~]

Originally Posted by queen bee

And you also recently posted that you smoked and drank an iced mocha every day of your first pregnancy because you had no idea that smoking and consuming large quantities of caffeine during pregnancy could be harmful. I guess a few things fell through the cracks in your traditional ways of healing?

What does smoking and drinking coffee have to do with healing the body?
Had I known they were dangerous, I wouldn't have used them. Everyone I knew growing up, smoked and drank coffee.

What does any of that have to do with my OP?

[queen bee]

I'm pointing out that "intuition" and "self healing" obviously have their limits in the absence of certain empirical data. You weren't able to intuit the dangers of smoking, but women should be able to intuit the presence of cancer?

[~member~]

Originally Posted by queen bee

I'm pointing out that "intuition" and "self healing" obviously have their limits in the absence of certain empirical data. You weren't able to intuit the dangers of smoking, but women should be able to intuit the presence of cancer?

no where did i say that...maybe you should actually read what i wrote.

[~member~]

Wow, I am really amazed that people would jump to such conclusions as 'intuition' and 'self-healing'.

Is it that you cannot fathom the idea that there are more accurate, less invasive ways for detecting problems with the human body?

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies

I am saying that it is time to quit letting our bodies be abused by the medical industry.

I am saying that getting an a pelvic exam and a breast exam is not abuse.

[queen bee]

Originally Posted by MamaInTheBoonies

Is it that you cannot fathom the idea that there are more accurate, less invasive ways for detecting problems with the human body?

Of course I can. You know nothing about me or how I care for my body. I'm just pointing out what seem to be some serious inconsistencies in your words.

[bri276]

and that it's extremely difficult to take medical advice of any kind seriously from someone who was not aware that smoking during pregnancy is dangerous. btw, do you still smoke? maybe that has to do with some of this cancer denial stuff. Again, to reiterate-

the MINORITY of people with cancer have a family history, and especially in the case of cervical cancer, the cause is environmental, from a virus, with NO symptoms, and I would love to know which blood test is as accurate as a sample of cervical cells.

do you really think all doctors are evil and just trying to abuse women to make money?

does it not occur to you that the medical industry is NOT just men any more?

does it not occur to you that female physicians and midwives get routine pap smears?

I hope you're as healthy as you think you are. I wasn't. If I thought the way you did, I could have cancer right now and be on the way to an early grave. The Indians and their white man counterparts had much shorter life spans than today, in good part because of modern medicine. A cure for cancer was not found by them, either.

[~member~]

Originally Posted by bri276

I would love to know which blood test is as accurate as a sample of cervical cells.

The blood test was for STD's, not cervical cancer.

Maybe instead of getting upset, just ask for clarification.

[~member~]

I am saying that getting an a pelvic exam and a breast exam is not abuse.

It is an invasion of a woman's body that puts her at risk of infection. One pelvic exam is enough. If a woman is that uncomfortable feeling her breasts and knowing her breast and how it changes, then yes, by all means have some stranger feel them for you.
A person who has never felt your breast before is not going to know if it has changed.
If you feel a lump or something, then by all means get a mammogram.

[queen bee]

This reminds me of something thats been on my mind lately.

I wish wish WISH my husband had an ongoing relationship with a good health care provider. Is he "empowered" by avoiding exams? Hell no. His "self-reliance" is a problem, especially as he gets older. He was in dire straits a few years ago from an infection that got out of control in a terrifyingly fast manner. Every day for a week I said "Would you please call someone about that?" and every day he said, "let's just wait another day, it will be ok." This went on until the day I drove him to the Emergency Room with a fever of 104, and watched them wheel him into surgery within a half hour. And after all of that, he never even went back for his follow-up.

I, on the other hand, have an ongoing relationship with a CNM that I see about every year and a half. I know my cholesterol, my glucose levels (had gestational diabetes, and type 2 runs in the fam) my blood pressure and thyroid numbers. Even though I've been checking my cervix for years (fertility tracking) I was finally able to get a good look at it with her mirror and lighting set-up. Over the years she's been a good person to sound ideas off of regarding depression, birth control, nutrition, weight struggles and a weird ongoing battle with strep.

I know that this board is loaded with intellegent empowered women who have forged beneficial relationships with health care providers of all kinds. I just don't buy the assertion that regular health care is an indicator of self-shame and powerlessness. In some cases they exist together, in some cases they don't.