Friday, May 01, 2009

Mastectomy Law Change

I'm not normally an "involved person", but I can't sit back and watch insurance companies try to dictate patient care; especially in the case of women having a Mastectomy - Out Patient Care, are you kidding? Please sign the petition today. See the email I received below:



http://www.mylifetime.com/community/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer

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Proposed Mastectomy Law Change

(written by a surgeon);

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the
insurance companies.

So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an
outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick! The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women.


There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a
few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support.. Last year over half the House
signed on. PLEASE! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.mylifetime.com/community/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

1 comment:

Ife B. said...

I got an email with this information and did some research and it's out of date. The act was passed with a vote of 421 to 2. The decision on the amount of the stay will be between the patient and the doctor. Check this article out on Lifetime.

http://www.mylifetime.com/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/congress-approves-bipartisan-breast-cancer-patient-protection-act

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