By Lily
The Breast Cancer Protection Act was first introduced to Congress in 1996. It’s purpose is to stop “drive-through mastectomies” where women are sent home almost immediately after surgery. The Act prohibits insurance companies from restricting benefits for less than 48 hours after a mastectomy and 24 hours for a lymph node dissection. While it does not require the patient stay there that amount time, no approval is necessary if they do. After passing Congress in 2008, intense lobbying from insurance companies kept it from reaching the Senate floor for a vote. The Act has again been re-introduced. The Lifetime Channel has collected over 24 million signatures of support. If you’d like to sign the petition, here is the link. Please feel free to share your thoughts and stories.
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12 Responses to The Breast Cancer Protection Act
Thank you for providing this link and supporting this cause.
Thanks, Lily. This is important information to share.
I’ll sign the petition as soon as I get home. (For some reason it is “blocked” here at work – go figure).
It is really unfortunate that the insurance companies have taken this position. A lot of women would rather go home immediately, but those who would prefer to stay should be allowed to do so.
Thank you Anya. This cause is very important to all women.
I meant to thank Lily but I will thank you both for the great blog
In April I found out I have cervical cancer. This has been the most difficult period of my life.
I’ve always supported the cancer causes in the past, but now it has special meaning to me.
Please support cancer research with your heart and not just your checkbook. I’m sorry I didn’t understand this all along.
Lily thanks for the link. I had a biopsy on what was a non-cancerous lump (thank God) and it was a painful procedure for me. I was told i could drive myself home and resume working that afternoon. No, I couldn’t! I struggled to drive home, collapsed on the sofa when home, and was in pain for days. I will sign this petition.
Happy.mom, you are in my prayers. Get well, and please let us know how you are doing.
Ann,
Thank you for your kindness.
The first thing that was really hard to get over is that cervical cancer is equated with promiscuous behaviour and HPV. I’m certainly not promiscuous, nor do I have any doubt about the faithfulness of my husbands. When you first find out, you feel icky, like someone who has picked up a STD because they’ve slept around. That is not my case.
I married young (first partner) and we had a monogomous marriage for over twenty years. My husband died, quite unexpectedly, when the kids were going through their worst teen years.
I remarried several years ago, and it is a wonderful marriage. Something I never would have imagined in those dark days.
I feel like I was given another chance at life when I got married again. Now I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me, once again. It takes so long to get over the death of a spouse. In many ways you never get over it, but you do start living again.
This cancer seems like a cruel joke. I finally embrace life again and I don’t know how strong I can be in fighting this. I’m 48, and feel far too young to have to go through this.
Oh, on a lighter note!
I have always been terrified of mammograms and managed to make excuses for years in order to get out of them.
I had my first mammogram in April, and was completely shocked by how easy it was. Yes, it was uncomfortable, but certainly not painful.
My best friend has much smaller breasts and says it hurts a lot. I’m big on top (not such an advantage when things start to sag) and thought it was easy. Is there a difference in the breast size when it comes to the discomfort of a mammogram?
By the way, my mammogram came out just fine.
Ann, thanks for sharing your experience.
Happy.Mom — so sorry for what you are going through. Thanks for spreading awareness about cervical cancer. It can very deadly to make assumptions about who gets this or that type of cancer.
I do believe you have the strength (you have already been through a lot) and I pray you have a good team of doctors to guide you through treatment and recovery. Bless you.
Happy Mom
You will be in my thoughts and prayers and I wish you a good recovery. Congrats on the results of your mammogram. I am big on top and I am here to tell you that I find it a wee bit uncomfortable but never painful enough that I would not have it done.
I am also so happy that Ann had a good outcome.
Lily, Thanks for this link. I just signed the petition. Good information to pass on to everyone.
Happy.mom, I too will keep you in my thoughts for what you must be going through and for good health. Thank you for sharing.
My mom is a survivor. She is 5years free now. She had an lumpectomy and it was followed w/radiation treatments. W/her age and the effect of the anesthesia, it would have been so nice if she could have stayed w/o having to be moved so quickly. It was painful for her, not to mention the emotional trauma of having a doctor slice into your breasts while facing the uncertainty of cancer.
Anya wrote an article on Kelly Corrigan, author of the The Middle Place. Below is an excerpt. There is a link to a video that is very touching and I recommend taking the time to watch it.
Her world changed forever, however, when she found a lump in her breast. After a few days of hoping that it was just a cyst, Corrigan was diagnosed with breast cancer, Stage 3. Several months into her treatment, her beloved father George, a larger-than-life character who has been an anchor in her life, is also diagnosed with cancer – bladder cancer. While this may seem a depressing tale, it is not. It is funny, evocative and a complete pleasure to read.
Thanks for this important article, Lily. Breast cancer touches so many lives. My maternal grandmother died of it when my mom and aunt (twins) were only 10. Last year my aunt went through treatment (chemo, radiation and lumpectomy) for breast cancer. Her prognosis is excellent, and I’m glad that we’ve come so far since my grandmother’s day, when the only treatment was interferon. We still have farther to go, though.
Happy.mom, you are in my thoughts and prayers. You have been through a lot and seem to be very strong.
I think discomfort in mammograms really varies depending on how sensitive one’s breasts are. I’m also top-heavy, and I tend to associate larger breasts with less sensitivity, but I have no idea if that’s actually true. I had my first mammogram last year at age 40 at my request (I think they start at 45? But I wanted one because of my family history). I did not find it that physically uncomfortable at all. I do know some women really do find them painful.