Your Signature Can Make A Difference

I received an email from my sister today that I thought was probably a chain email, but it wasn't. I read the email then followed the link and I am heartbroken. I understand that the insurance companies have a lot of expenses, but one more day in the hospital isn't going to drive them under. And don't we pay insanely high premiums for when we do get sick?

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what my sister sent me:

From a nurse:

I'll never forget the look in my patients 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 afterward. 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.

Mastectomy Bill in Congress

It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very important .. please take the time and do it really quick!

Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important legislation for all women.

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.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php

This takes about 2 seconds. PLEASE PASS THIS ON to your friends and
family, and on behalf of all women, THANKS.

So, I followed the link, I signed the petition, and I hope you all will do the same. Let's stop the insanity before it gets any worse. We've gone from throwing women out of the hospital within 24 hours of childbirth to now wanting to do mastectomies as outpatient surgery? What the hell is wrong with this country?

Take the time to make a difference, less than a minute, and sign your name.