Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, Lifetime TV, Petition

I received the email listed below and thought everyone should read it!!!

As a Breast Cancer Patient who went through a Mastectomy not quite 2 years ago I was shocked to hear what the insurance companies are doing. The thought that I could have been sent home a few hours after having surgery (I did go home the next day) is really scary.

I would never have been able to comprehend and retain the information that was given to me the next day if I had only a couple hours. I would not have been able to check my drains or empty them. I would not have been able to change my bandages. I was barely able to say my name.

Please, Think about all the women in your life, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Best Friends, Co-workers and all women. This Information affects them all. 1 in every 3 women will get Breast Cancer and could be put in this position.

Please Go to the website and follow the instructions listed below:

********************************************************************************

The U. S. Forum is pleased to pass along the following item from an active member of the Forum Women helping Women. The choice of action is yours of course.

Thank you,Dr. Mary Ann Roldan, U.S. Forum Chairman 2008-2010

It really does only take about 20 seconds, please fill out the form for yourself and the rest of us. K.R. (NM)

Proposed Mastectomy Law Change

(Written by a surgeon);

I'll never forget the look in my patient’s eyes when I had to tell them they had to go home with the drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the doctors to keep these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their hands were tied by the insurance companies. So there I sat with my patient giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed, hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered.

A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is removed in order to remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.This Mastectomy Bill is in Congress now. It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important. Please take the time and do it really quick!

The Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill is important legislation for all women. Please send this to everyone in your address book. If there was ever a time when our voices and choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this, it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue and send it on to others you know who will do the same.

There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.

Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support.. Last year over half the House signed on. PLEASE! Sign the petition by clicking on the web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.

http://www.mylifetime.com/community/my-lifetime-commitment/breast-cancer/petition/breast-cancer-petition

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your 20 friends.