Assorted rants...

What do my husband and I fight about? Money, of course. Par example, our daycare provider told us that she is quitting the business-- so we need a new daycare for Mark. We have, therefore, been on the hunt for one of the most scarce resources of which I know-- an infant daycare slot. I have been talking and networking for six weeks now. I finally found a slot. I tell the engineer and what does he start picking apart? That she's just starting in daycare and she's charging as much as the experienced providers in the area. So now he's telling me that he'll haggle with her to decide on a price. Umm... when I go to the store and see that there is a price on an item, I don't haggle. I'm trusting this person with my child-- the boy that I went through two years of waiting, months and months of charting, and a round of Clomid (which caused me to be so off-balance that I had a road rage incident) to concieve. Screw it-- he can take care of daycare issues from now on.

I talked to my Mom today. When she had her screening last week for breast cancer, the radiologist said the tests were inconclusive and she needed additional mammograms and/or a biopsy. She talked to both the radiologist and her doctor today. The radiologist said that he'd compare the mammogram she just had with her last mammogram (which is six! years old) to decide about the inconclusive lumps. Then her doctor says no additional screening is necessary on the inconclusive lumps and that she just has dense breasts.

At this point, you might be thinking, AAK, why not trust the doctors? Let me tell you why. My friend was told by a doctor when she was in her mid-30s to not worry about the lump in her breast. A year later, she demanded screening and he guilt-tripped her about how she didn't trust him. She got her screening, her second opinion, and guess what! She had breast cancer. Had to have a mastectomy, reconstruction, and the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Had to have a second surgery to remove all of her lymph nodes. Now has a compression sleeve to deal with the swelling in her arm (aka lymphodema). It's pretty damn easy for a doctor to say not to worry about a lumpy breast. But it pisses me off that they're gambling with my Mom's life.