Annual PSA Continued

Usually i only post my annual PSA about getting your health screenings once a year.

This year, i'm going to reiterate because of some test results.

Tuesday, i hadn't yet heard anything, and was going to call my M.D. in the afternoon.  Then i got a call from the hospital where my tests, a mammogram and a bone density scan were done.

The nice lady noted that there was something in one of the mammogram pictures that the radiologist wanted a better look at, something that wasn't there the year before.

She asked when i could come in, and i told her i could be there Wednesday if they had an opening.  They did, at 8:30am.  Being a morning person, i jumped on it.

This time, she took 3 separate shots, from different angles than before.  Instead of having to then go home and wait for a call, i was instructed to wait in the mammography room in case another shot was needed.

About 5 minutes after she finished and left the room, she came back and said, "The radiologist says it's all clear, just a bit of benign calcification, we will see you again in a year."

Phew.

She added, "The radiologist will send the report to your doctor in the morning."

Since my doctor's office is in this particular hospital, and i still had no clue about the results of the bone scan, i decided to just go upstairs and let them know myself, and ask about the other test.

Walking in, i told the receptionist what i was there for, and she said, "Oh, thank goodness for that, and I'm glad you are here.  I was just looking at your bone scan results, you do have a tiny bit of bone loss, and the doctor wants you to make an appointment to discuss what you can do now to take care of it.  When would you like to come in?"

Well, i told her, my thyroid test is due in October again, so how about i come in and do that and talk to him the same day?

"Sounds great, how does October 3rd sound?  At 10:30am."

It sounded fine to me, so that's when i will go in.

So, now i have a drum to beat.  Please, please don't put off regular tests.  If i hadn't been going regularly for mammograms, or "getting the twins their glamor shots" as i like to jokingly say, but just put off such things indefinitely, or not taken my doc seriously about the bone density scan, these are things that could have been missed.

Go get your tests, and repeat them regularly as your doctor tells you.  There's a good reason.  It can save you a world of worry to catch things early.


Today is:

Aloha Festivals Royal Court Investiture and Opening Ceremonies -- Oahu, Hawai'i, US (opening events of the Aloha Festivals, a month long series of free events on every Island celebrating Hawai'ian culture)

Amilcar Cabral's Birthday/National Day -- Guinea Bissau

Anvil Mountain 59 Minute 37 Second Challenge -- Nome, AK, US (starting gun sounds at 7 pm, and the course begins at the base of Anvil Mountain, goes uphill then back down via a gravel road, with the challenge being to do it in less than the time allotted)

Defender's Day -- Maryland, US (marking the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, which event inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star Spangled Banner", current national anthem of the US)

Eleven Days of Global Unity -- Day 2, Interdependence (sponsored by We, the World)

Feast of San Gennaro -- New York, NY, US (an 11 day street fair centered around Little Italy and its Patron Saint, Gennaro, whose feast day is the 19th; includes a Mass and parading of the Saint's statue on the final Saturday of the celebrations)

Gahambar Paitishahem -- Zoroastrian Calendar (four day feast of bringing in the harvest, dates approximate)

Hummer/Bird Celebration -- Rockport and Fulton, TX, US (ruby-throated hummingbirds and other avians are the stars of this show; through Sunday)

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

National Day of Encouragement -- US (no matter where you live, encourage someone today)

National Day of the Working Parent -- US (can't find a sponsor, but it's listed on several sites as the 2nd Thursday of September)

Newport International Boat Show -- Newport, RI, US (through Sunday)

Stop A Suicide Today 2013 -- information here

St. Alibe's Day (Patron of wolves; Cashel, Ireland; Emly, Ireland; Munster, Ireland)

St. Guy's Day (Patron of bachelors, epileptics, horned animals, laborers, sacristans, sextons, work horses; for protection of outbuildings, sheds, and stables; Anderlecht, Belgium; against epilepsy, hydrphobia/rabies, infantile convulsions, and rabid dogs)

Video Games Day -- an unofficially declared day for kids to thank their parents for indulging their love of games


Anniversaries Today:

Elizabeth Barret and Robert Browning elope, 1846


Birthdays Today:

Yao Ming, 1980
Rachel Ward, 1957
Gerry Beckley, 1952
Barry White, 1952
Maria Muldaur, 1943
Linda Gray, 1940
George Jones, 1931
Dickie Moore, 1925
Irene Dailey, 1920
Jesse Owens, 1913
Ben Blue, 1901
Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. 1892
Maurice Chevalier, 1888
H.L. Mencken, 1880


Today in History:

Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen, 1609
The first submarine is tested in London, 1624
Turkish troops besieging Vienna are overthrown after 2 months by Poland's King Sobieski, 1683
First Black Masons Lodge is formed, 1787
Switzerland becomes a Federal State, 1848
The "Cleopatra Needle" is installed in London, 1878
Charles Leroux, world famous parachutist with 238 successful jumps, perishes in his attempted jump in the Bay of Reval, 1889
The world's first female police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, is appointed by the LAPD, 1910
Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France, 1940
Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit, 1958
Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly-scheduled TV program presented in color, 1959
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup, 1974
Indonesia is hit with an 8.1 earthquake, 1979
Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica, 1988
Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, 2005