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PAP TEST FAILURE – YOU MAY NEVER KNOW

Question:

The last time I had a PAP test done, there was a box I checked on the request form which the doctor’s office completed that requested the PERFORMING site mail me DIRECTLY a copy of the results. I checked the box, and I actually got a copy of the report mailed to my house!! Maybe this is going to be a new trend in PAP smears, and one might want to ask if that is a possibility the next time you have one done. I of course cannot guarantee that you will get the result, but it’s a step in the right direction towards the possibility that someone might ACTUALLY do their job right. You know the saying, you just can’t get good help these days…and if you want something done right do it yourself? They’re both true! : A couple of years ago I went to a doctor to have a pap test taken.  A : few months after that I happened to spot my records and realized that : the reading was irregular.  No one had told me.  Since there is quite : a history of cancer in my family, including breast and uterus, I : became angry and switched doctors.

Response:

YOU MAY NEVER KNOW YOU FAILED YOUR PAP TEST! Have you ever wondered why an increasing number of people are seeking alternative medicine? Have you ever thought about how nice it would be to go to a doctor with a complaint, get a test, and then have the doctor get back to you to notify you? Well, dream on.  There is no such communication between doctor and patient because doctors simply don’t have TIME to communicate the results to their patients. So you sit there in pain, waiting and waiting to what was wrong. Finally you call the doctor’s office yourself a couple of weeks later and the answer is "Sorry Mrs. Smith.  We didn’t find anything." Well, "thanks for telling me!", you think to yourself.  "Thanks for showing such interest and making me wait, thinking that since nothing was found, I could just go away somewhere and the pain might fade away!" Desperately you seek the help of an acupuncturist or an alternative method where there will be some kind of communication between patient and doctor.  At least there you know you will be informed of the results, and will know what to do if they can’t find anything. A couple of years ago I went to a doctor to have a pap test taken.  A few months after that I happened to spot my records and realized that the reading was irregular.  No one had told me.  Since there is quite a history of cancer in my family, including breast and uterus, I became angry and switched doctors. I told the new doctor that I was switching because no one had informed me of my test results last time and I was upset with that doctor.  "We don’t normally inform patients of pap test results because there are too many", the nurse said.  "We don’t call them unless there’s something wrong.  We will tell them, however, if they call in." For a few months I forgot about the second test, and then today when I was calling about something else, I remembered.  "Oh, you had an infection on that pap test", the nurse said.  "We couldn’t get any results.  I guess you should book another test." "An infection?", I asked, horrified (especially since I hadn’t had any sex in a couple of years!)  "What kind of infection?  How come nobody told me?"  It had been overlooked. My point here is that it seems millions of dollars are being spent on pap tests.  Negative results may mean the difference between life and death, and doctor’s are taking this as frivolously as a hang nail.  I feel as though, as a woman, I’m being used for no reason other than to pump money into men’s pockets.  Why have pap tests with irregular results if women aren’t going to be informed? Needless to say I’m sitting here in disgust!  I called several people, and several government departments, and for most, the issue also seemed no more important than that of a hang nail. I’ve had other women tell me to make sure to ask for a photocopy of your records when you go, because doctor’s don’t tell people anything. Yes, they are right. I called the College of Physicians and Surgeons and they’re not interested in acting on the issue unless I can supply the names of the doctors.  Because I’m aware that my doctors are no worse than any other, but are merely representative of a "common doctor today", I don’t want to get them in trouble.  I asked the College "Could you not just advise all doctors to at least get back to patients or put a sign up in their offices notifying women they won’t be contacted?"   The College appears interested only in sending a private letter to doctors concerned. I wonder how many women with histories of cancer are visitng doctors and are not being informed of irregular results.  Many are not aware that doctor’s offices won’t call them unless there’s something wrong, and that even when there is something wrong, they may forget. What’s the point of spending millions and millions of dollars on pap tests when women aren’t made aware of these things?  Can’t SOMEBODY — the press or whoever — please inform women that they should ask for photocopies of all lab tests in order to protect themselves?

Response:

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