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Unless he has some very convincing arguments DW will not be getting any more Mamo's.
I will continue providing what ever care and assistance I can and seek out help with what I cannot.
Thank you all for your help.
On the other hand, some private pay medical insurance companies require specific sets of yearly tests to determine rates, eligibility etc. I'm not even sure it's legal for them to do so, but I'm hearing more and more about them doing it. Workers comp has required some testing of my husband from time to time that I would not normally have had done. His condition is related to a work related brain injury. I don't like it, it's a horrible tortuous inconvenience for all of us, but, they require it to continue paying for his injury related medical care and his medication alone would cost nearly $4,000 a month, so we jump through their hoops as required.
This is the page from the NHS website trying (bless the little dears) to support informed choice:
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Benefits and risks
The NHS offers screening to save lives from breast cancer. Screening does this by finding breast cancers at an early stage, when they're too small to see or feel.
But it does have some risks.
Screening also doesn't prevent you getting breast cancer, and it may not help if you already have advanced stage breast cancer.
It's up to you to decide if you want to have breast screening.
Benefits of breast screening
Breast screening helps identify breast cancer early. The earlier the condition is found, the better the chances of surviving it.
You're also less likely to need a mastectomy (breast removal) or chemotherapy if breast cancer is detected at an early stage.
Risks of breast screening
Overtreatment
Some women who have screening will be diagnosed and treated for breast cancer that would never have otherwise caused them harm.
Read about breast cancer treatment, including potential side effects.
Unnecessary distress
Following screening, about 1 in 25 women will be called back for further assessment.
Being called back doesn't mean you definitely have cancer. The first mammogram may have been unclear.
Most women who receive an abnormal screening result are found not to have breast cancer. These women may experience unnecessary worry and distress.
About 1 in 4 women who are called back for further assessment are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Missed diagnosis
There's a small chance that you'll receive a negative (all clear) mammogram result when cancer is present.
Breast screening picks up most breast cancers, but it misses breast cancer in about 1 in 2,500 women screened.
Radiation
A mammogram is a type of X-ray, and X-rays can, very rarely, cause cancer.
During a mammogram, your breasts are exposed to a small amount of radiation (0.4 millisieverts, or mSv).
For comparison, in the UK, a person receives a dose of 2.2 mSv a year from natural background radiation.
But the benefits of screening and early detection are thought to outweigh the risks of having the X-ray.
Weighing up the possible benefits and risks of breast screening
There's debate about how many lives are saved by breast screening and how many women are diagnosed with cancers that wouldn't have become life threatening.
The numbers below are the best estimates from a group of experts who have reviewed the evidence.
Saving lives from breast cancer
Screening saves about 1 life from breast cancer for every 200 women who are screened.
This adds up to about 1,300 lives saved from breast cancer each year in the UK.
Finding cancers that would never have caused a woman harm
About 3 in every 200 women screened every 3 years from the age of 50 to 70 are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have been found without screening, and would never have become life threatening.
This adds up to about 4,000 women each year in the UK who are offered treatment they didn't need.
What this means
Overall, for every 1 woman who has her life saved from breast cancer, about 3 women are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have become life threatening.
Researchers are trying to find better ways to tell which women have breast cancers that will be life threatening and which women have cancers that won't.
Who's at higher risk of breast cancer?
The causes of breast cancer aren't fully understood, making it difficult to say why one woman may develop breast cancer and another may not.
But there are risk factors known to affect your likelihood of developing breast cancer.
Some of these you can't do anything about, but there are some you can change.
Learn about the risk factors for breast cancer.
Page last reviewed: 27/03/2018
Next review due: 27/03/2021
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Sigh. So that's helpful, then...
I will agree that she deserves fair and just medical treatment and I do not intend to deprive her of that. I just cant see putting her thru some of the devastating treatments like chemo. I feel that would just add to her mental and physical problems and it may not extend her life.
She has recently started meds for her kidney function and our PCP and I will do whatever we can to make her comfortable and keep her going. But after we have seen so many of our old friends and family members pass and what they went thru I just can't see her throwing up blood, etc. (that was a friends cancer), urinating black liquid(another friend), and who knows what else is out there. That is not living, that is torture.
I don't want to be rude to anyone, but there are just too many in the medical field that believe as long as there is heart beat the person is living. Perhaps in some cases, yes. But in just too many, No.
I will keep her as long as I can but I will not torture her with teeth extractions, hair falling out, critical weakness, tubes and wires going in and out of her and she not know why.
Thanks again to all.
#1 Yesterday I was roundly bollocked - as we say over here - by Dr. Daughter for being rude about mammograms. She rebuked me further that dementia patients have equal rights to medical care (she's telling me?!), and said an ultrasound would be the way to go if you decide you would like your wife to be screened - which I see another poster has already suggested. (I'm still not getting a bloody mammogram, sulk pout).
#2 I thought I would look up the statistics. The bad news is that at 75 your wife has just entered the age group at greatest risk of developing breast cancer. The much more cheerful news is that in this group, women aged 75-79, the incidence of breast cancer is 451 per 100,000 women. So unless there is a concerning family history, her odds are pretty good.
Since she is in worse condition this year I felt it necessary to ask for experienced advise. Our PCP is very understanding and supportive on these types of exams. We do watch her labs closely for things can be treated with meds. So far nothing invasive or that may require extensive treatments like most cancers.
I am more into quality of her life than quantity. comfort and good times for any memories she might have. We can almost always just hold hands and watch TV or try to talk.
But I really do appreciate all of the suggestions here. It helps reduce the confusion in making this decision.
exists.
Would a mammogram that showed "something" change a course of treatment?
Chances are with or without treatment her lifespan would be about the same. So you are looking at QUALITY of life versus QUANTITY. I think quality is more important than quantity at this point.
Also to even do the test is not comfortable, it can be confusing. If you decide to schedule this for her when you make the appointment explain that they will need more time and patience.
Bottom line..short and to the point.. I would not bother with the test at all. Also not that you asked but also no to a colonoscopy and any other "invasive" test. There is no test that is worth the discomfort and confusion for a diagnosis if you would elect to not proceed with any treatment.
I don't disagree that it's a problem, but I don't see that it's anything to be very chirpy about either.
members with litigious ($$$) expectations, can claim negligence. This can occur even if
the patient has a DNR/POLST claiming no more tests. Lighten up folks.
Mum has good physical and mental health, lives independently, drives etc. She could pass for 60. She is very clear in her POA what she does and does not want regarding her healthcare.
I *sort of* feel for public health specialists trying to explain the risks and benefits of screening programmes to an anxious audience who couldn't give a monkey's about population statistics and just want to know if screening will save them from a horrible death. But I'd feel a lot sorrier for them if they'd take the trouble to get better at explaining the statistics.
Perhaps part of the trouble is that in the context of your own health you want clear advice, and you're not best pleased to hear the experts saying "probably..."
I also told discussed this with my 95 year old mother. If you ignore something, you don't know what you're dealing with. If you know, you can discuss options and concerns, you are doing it from facts. Fear is a horrid reason not to do something. I'm not afraid of facts.
But perhaps you aren't responding directly to his concern.
When my mother is in the ER, I'm the one who has to get her urine sample. They would have me be the one to take her to the bathroom (she has to go a lot) once she's in one of the examining rooms, too. (I refused.)
Since my mother doesn't want me to be in the examining room during a regular doctor's visit, I'm thinking that should also apply to the ER. And I won't be signing any discharge papers, either.
There hasn't been an ER visit for more than a year, knock on wood! They never find anything, anyway, since she won't allow the tests that would give some information.
Can't believe ur Mom went thru all that in her mid 80s. Maybe treatments but I heard reconstruction is very painful. I had a friend say she would not do it again and she was fairly young.
Mammos are not fun. To get it right the first time is tricky. And you have to be able to follow directions. Like said, if you aren't going thru the treatment, why do it. I agree, to keep her calm and comfortable is now how it goes.
My intentions are to keep her as long and make as comfortable as possible. I have heard that people with these diseases will die from one of two things. Either the disease or no being able to tell us of other medical problems.
I don't want make things more complicated they are already.
Thank you all so very much for your comments. I do appreciate them.
Knowing exactly what is involved in a mammogram, I can't imagine anyone with dementia being able to cooperate with it.
No.
You can ask whoever bathes her to run a discreet check, if you like. What to look/feel for is widely available on the internet.
I would never discourage anyone, particularly anyone with a relevant family history, from getting a mammogram if they will find it reassuring. But I have said before: I'm not sticking my t**s in a mangle to amuse anyone. I check regularly instead.