Oy

I admit I am a bit cheap, but I really didn't want things to turn out this way.

Upon leaving my job, I started getting my health benefits through COBRA. It's notoriously expensive, and while I know that insurance is more a wager with the insurer that you won't get sick, I was still kind of annoyed that chances were very good that I would not get my 'money's worth.'

Well, that may not be the case.

I had my mammogram about two weeks ago and was called back in because the radiologist had seen something on one of the films and wanted to get magnified images of the area in question. I wasn't all that concerned, frankly, because this was my first digital mammo, and I'd read that the increased detail the digitals show was causing more women to get called back for retakes. I went back in on Tuesday. After more shots, and more discomfort, the radiologist came back with a verdict. Magnifying the magnification as she showed me, she explained that she was concerned about a very tiny spot that she'd nearly missed. She wants me to see a specialist, potentially for a biopsy.

Shit.

Now, I trust the radiologist implicitly -- she's got a fantastic reputation with physicians and patients alike, and she's straightforward without being cold. I'd had an issue a couple of years ago and she sent me for an MRI that showed everything was okay. No doubt this will be something similar. The radiologist said she didn't think it was anything, but I definitely need to get it checked out. Yesterday I set up the appointment with the specialist and arranged to have the radiologist's report sent to that specialist for evaluation. The appointment is in February... unless the report raises concern, in which case the date gets moved up.

Among the many issues this might bring up, it does put a time clock on making career decisions. Even if everything works out okay health-wise, I'm still obliged to go back for a recheck in six months... and probably on six-month intervals for the near future. COBRA coverage maxes out at 18 months, and then I have to make other health insurance arrangements, either through a new employer or buying them myself. Geesh.

Fate does have interesting motivational techniques.