DON’T WAIT TOO LONG

One of the most common mistakes we make in life is waiting too long. Over the years that I practiced medicine, I lost many a patient to this phenomenon. When my patients put off going in for recommended screening tests, they ran the risk of missing important diagnoses and the time when something could be done about them.

Colonoscopies, done on a regular basis, can often find precursors to cancer and allow the surgeon time to prevent the onset of serious disease. Screening mammograms can uncover early disease, again allowing the oncologist or surgeon time to prevent the onset metastatic or late disease. While physicians disagree on how often the prostate exam should be done, checking the prostate may also save you a lot of discomfort and grief.

My recommendation is that you see your family physician once a year and discuss preventative maintenance with him/her.  Most of my patients did better maintenance on their cars than they did on their bodies. If your heart is the equivalent of your car’s engine, it makes more sense to take care of your heart than the motor in your car. To work on your heart, one often has to cut open the chest, do the work necessary and then wire the chest shut. With your car, it’s as simple as is popping the hood, replacing parts as needed, repairing parts as needed and then closing the hood making sure that the latch is tight.

That brings me to today’s article: moving into assisted living. Again, waiting too long can cause problems. If you move into assisted living now while you are still active and thriving, then the staff gets to know who you are, to develop a relationship with you and, when you need their skilled assistance, they will “care for/about you.”  Too many people wait until they are no longer themselves and need care.  The staff never really gets to know who you were and only see you as the shell of the person you used to be, now just lying in bed, eating and pooping and not doing much else.  Unfortunately, they failed to bond with you and the care you receive may suffer.

So, if you are contemplating the need to move into assisted living, please do so early in your old age, while you are still the person you have always been. SOB’s, PLEASE ignore the above advice.  You’ll probably get better care if the staff Never has a chance to see that side of you.

Ask yourself, “When was the last time I changed the oil in my car?” Then ask yourself, “When was the last time I saw my doctor for preventative testing?” If you know exactly when the last time was you had an oil change and lube  but can’t remember the last time you saw your doctor, you’re definitely a male. Now ask yourself, “Why are there so many widows as opposed to widowers?”  The answer is that women take better care of themselves than men!

After my prostate exam, the doctor left. The nurse came in later, with a worried look on her face, and said the three words I was dreading to hear. She said, “Who was that?”