yay - it's here...

Digital mammography. I maybe shouldn't be SO excited, but I've been waiting for this for over 5 years. I was ready to travel to Minneapolis for it. I asked the technician here in Fargo if they've got it, and she said it cost $5 million dollars (if I'm remembering correctly - maybe that's too high), too expensive to justify. But aren't we women worth it? It takes less time, renders a clearer image, and doesn't expose us to any radiation. I've been wondering about that lately - I haven't had an x-ray taken in years (not dental or otherwise), but add them all up over the years - dental, doctor's, mammograms, and you get a hefty dose of radiation hits to your body. So - yay to Fargo - Innovis has it, Meritcare is getting it next year, and my place sometime after. Sorry, my place, I'm switching to Innovis for my imaging. Which brings me to my next thought for the day: exams.

Smart friend Dr. Maggie (I call her just Mags) came over yesterday to hang for a while and help me out with my naughty little ribby that won't stay in its socket (do ribs have sockets? Hmm...). We were talking about health care, and having insurance. In the back of my brain I'm always wondering if insurance is worth it, if you live a clean life. I haven't been to the doctor in over two years, except for my yearly exams, which cost a total of $1000. Insurance pays for my monthly visits to Dr. Deb, my chiropractor, and yearly vision tests and part of our dental costs. We pay around $3000 a year for insurance for all 6 of us - no one else has really been to the doctor, either - Erik for some bronchial stuff, that's it. Kari for some stuff, as well, but $3000 worth? So Mags says she keeps it for anticipated catastrophic emergencies that could cost thousands of dollars - I can see car accidents, etc., but still, is it worth it? She said she doesn't believe in testing. If you live a clean life, you won't get sick. But if Steve hadn't been monitoring his prostate, he would've gotten in serious trouble, not detecting his "stuff" and getting it removed to stop anything from spreading.

Even if we live clean lives, stuff happens - it just does. And I said that it might be worth monitoring our genetic issues - if everyone in our past had cholesterol issues, we may want to monitor that. Same with heart or diabetes. Just be aware and take all precautionary measures possible. I don't know - I don't pretend to know the answers, as I keep grappling with the precautionary testing (some say that by the time any abnormalities end up in your blood it's WAY too late - I can understand that, as well), but there's the competitive side of me that says, "triglycerides are only 63? That kicks butt. That's studly." I like comparing my "numbers" and seeing how healthy I am. Could I give that up? Probably. Do I want to? I don't know. But we've got digital mammography here in Fargo, and I, for one, will be among those women calling for their screenings.