Another story that makes me mad

I read this story on the UK's Daily Mail and it makes me mad. Basically what happened is a young mother who was pregnant with a third child was diagnosed with breast cancer, that had metastasized to her lungs,  shortly before she died before she died. Then her family was told she also had Ewing's Sarcoma at her post mortem.

Some diagnosis and treatment delays can be put on the mother's reluctance to have treatment because she was pregnant or that she blamed some of her symptoms on her pregnancy. Some of the other delays probably can be blamed on doctor's not listening to her as much as they could.

I can completely understand a woman who is pregnant is reluctant to take prescriptions or have scans because of the baby's  health. But if you ignore symptoms you can end up in dire straits. The article states that she had shoulder pain more than six months before her death but didn't call the doctor because she wanted to spend more time with her daughters.

But also I think doctors need to tell their patient's that the symptom could be something else and needs to be checked. And the patient's concerns should not go by the wayside. A breast lump could be a milk duct while pregnant but if it lasts, it shouldn't be ignored and probably deserves a biopsy.

And as someone who has multiple ailments, I really take the time to listen to my body and try to figure out what an issue may be from. Is it new or is it related to something I know about? If my feet or hands hurt, I attribute it to RA.But pain across my back usually is fibromyalgia. A cough would be very unusual for me and would prompt me to be concerned.

How long does it last? If it lasts more than a week and doesn't seem to be getting better, then I definitely call my doctor.  That is my rule of thumb these days.

How painful is it? If causing me extreme pain and lasts for more than a few minutes, I usually will call. If its moderate pain, I try taking pain meds and see how it goes. But if it recurs or is new and lasts, I will call as well.

And you should never be too busy to take care if your health.