Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act Petition

The blue writing is an email that I received today. I had one of the 'drive-through' Mastectomies. I know that many of you may have also experienced this first hand. The first paragraph is from a nurse that could have been mine. Please take the time to read this, sign the petition if you haven't already, and pass it on to others so they can also sign.

From a nurse:
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 patients, 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. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it! Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're reading this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stays 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 some times with drainage tubes still attached. Lifetime Television has put this bill on their Web page with a petition drive to show 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, state, and zip code. Click: www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php This takes about half a minute. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and family, and on behalf of all women.

I wish this bill had been passed last year. My surgery started at 1:15 p.m. The surgery took 3 hours. I went home 2 hours later. I would have gone home sooner if the hospital had it's way. I was nauseated so I didn't want to leave but the out-patient center was closing so they wanted to send me home so they could go home. I was still so out of it that I don't even remember anything my nurse said to me before they sent me home. The drive home was miserable. The surgery was on Thursday. I had to drive back to Salt Lake, an hour away, on Friday to have a check up with my surgeon and again on Monday for a second check up. The drive back to Salt Lake on Friday was still pretty miserable. By Monday I was doing well enough that the drive wasn't too bad. I don't remember much about the first few days after surgery. I was pretty out of it. I do remember getting sick when I tried to eat something and had to have my 70 year old mother-in-law help me to the bathroom. I don't blame my doctor for doing my mastectomy as an out-patient but it would have been a lot easier on me if I had been able to stay at least 1 night in the hospital. Thank heavens that I did not have any complications. My doctor promised me that I would be able to reach her even over the weekend but I would have still been over an hour away from her. My mastectomy had good results but it could have been easier at the time. This bill would help other women to not have to go through a 'drive-through' Mastectomy like I did.

On September 25, 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bipartisan Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, which would end the practice of "drive-through" mastectomies, when women are forced to leave the hospital within hours of undergoing major breast cancer surgery. But the act still needs your support! Sign the petition below now and urge the Senate and the president to take the next steps to pass this bill.