When I was a kid, they taught us in health classes we should have a physical every year. I was twenty-nine the last time I had a physical and that was for a job. I swore I would never go through that procedure for a job again and never did.
In the 1980’s I saw an interview with a general practitioner who was in his late sixties. He said something to the effect, “Given nourishment and rest, ninety-five percent of ailments are self curing. People want immediate relief so they see us. The other five percent of ailments are what we are needed for. For many cases you can tell if a person is healthy or not, by looking at their eyes, color of skin, breathing, and color and condition of fingernails.” That made sense to me and I live by that.
It appears there are new guidelines for mammograms and pap smears. Women apparently don’t need these tests as often anymore. Having lived with a woman who had received dubious results from a mammogram and subsequent biopsies to finally discover the lumps were not life threatening, I understand what kind of emotional torture this constant screening puts a person through.
Now that money is an issue, these “required” tests are not as important anymore.
Makes one wonder, how honest are those who we place our trust with?
