MARHABAA!
You know you are in Dubai when you are facing health issues and find out that various medical tests and treatments are not covered by your insurance company. This was what happened to Mehreen, aged 30, as she recounted her miserable experience after being diagnosed with BI-RADS (Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System) Category 3, and spending more than five thousand dirhams for her treatment.
It all started in 2008 when she suffered from hormonal imbalance, although a common issue among women, hers was serious. One day, she was petrified when she noticed blood discharges from her breasts. ‘I almost fainted and started crying thinking that I had cancer and I was going to die soon,’ Mehreen told me. Fortunately, when she went for a breast ultra-sound at a reputed hospital, the doctor said that there was nothing wrong with her. No lumps were detected and her reports were clear. It was only a hormonal imbalance for which Dr. Nirmala prescribed contraceptive pills to cure her. To her joy, after three months, she was back to a normal state, and was expecting her first baby. She made sure that she did all her follow ups and check ups with Dr. Nirmala only. Months later, when Mehreen held her son for the very first time, it was the best moment of her life. However, six years later, things started to get more serious in her life when this time there was fluid discharged in high quantity from her breasts. Since Dr. Nirmala was no longer in UAE, she had to go to another medical center that was closer to her. The lady doctor, Dr. Neetu, advised her to go for several tests such as, Thyroid, Prolactin and Sonomammography (breasts ultra-sound), in spite of finding no lumps after the breast examination. Luckily, the first two tests’ results were normal whereas the Sonomammography was not a good one. Mehreen was diagnosed with BI-RADS 2 (Bilateral Fibroadenosis with left sided benign cyst). Mehreen got very worried-not only were the bills soaring high, but it seemed that she would need more and more tests, medications for a longer period and life was already so hard in Dubai. When she sat with Dr. Neetu to enquire about her case, Mehreen was shocked at the doctor’s reaction. She seemed to be so casual about it and she had that cold expression that disturbed Mehreen a lot. ‘Will I be fine doctor?’ asked Mehreen ‘We cannot say,’ was the reply. ‘What would you advise me then? How should I take care of myself? I still cannot understand how could I face this issue when no one else has ever been diagnosed with it in my family history?’ Mehreen was panicked. ‘It just come and we do not know why. I advise you to eat healthy food and do another ultra-sound after 6 months,’ she explained. ‘And if I am still not normal?’ questioned Mehreen. ‘Then, what?... Surgery. Simple,’ she still had that indifferent expression. She had no empathy. This is what she lacked as a doctor. Was not she supposed to understand her plight? So Mehreen decided not to come back again. Now after advice from her close friends, Mehreen went to a very professional doctor who referred her to a well-known Diagnostic Center in Dubai. But things did not turn out well. She did a Bilateral Diagnostic Mammography that at first even the doctor was confused about it saying there was something wrong with her and they needed her to come back for a second opinion. The funniest part was when she was asked to pay again. She was very angry and complained saying, ‘ You are the ones who did not understand my report and asked me to come again, so I will not pay. It is not my mistake if you did not do it properly at first!’ So, the medial center did not charge her one more time, for fear she complained to the authorities. When she received her reports, the doctor wanted to meet her and she said that she was now on BI-RADS Category 3 (most likely consistent with benign findings) and she was advised to go for a biopsy immediately to be able to go further with her treatment. Knowing that the biopsy as well will be very expensive and not under insurance coverage, she was reluctant. On top of that, she was very scared of biopsy and surgeries. After consulting all her friends, they all told her to follow the doctor’s advice, as nowadays this was a common issue among women and needed to be treated immediately to avoid any problem in future. But Mehreen decided to take matters in her hand and did a lot of researches online, and found out that biopsy was recommended from Category 4 onward. Hence, she booked the appointment anyway. That day, she set out for her appointment and wanted to get more information about biopsy and BIRADS from the doctor herself. She had a very bad day; since morning she was stuck in traffic due to accidents on the road and when she got to the Diagnostic Center, she was one hour late. The doctor’s assistant told her that she had missed her appointment and had either to wait if no patient turned up she could go in, or to reschedule for another day. The ‘another day’ would mean after a month. How could she come on another day when it was an emergency? She begged to talk to the doctor at least only for fifteen minutes. But the assistant said to wait for an hour more and she would do her best to accommodate her. As Mehreen was in the waiting area, she could see so many magazines about survivors of breast cancer. She read all the inspirational stories as she had a lot of time to do so. At the same time she nervously kept an eye on the time and on the patients as well. There were young women of about her age, some of them were very old too. After two hours, she noticed that there was a gap in the schedule, so she rushed to the assistant to request her to let her meet the doctor. She replied, ‘ No, I am sorry we can’t because maybe the patient pops in!’ Mehreen was now so furious and she said, ‘ You told me to wait and when a patient is late you would let me go in! I just need to talk to the doctor and it will not take more than fifteen minutes!’ She replied, ‘Please come on another day’. Seeing that nothing is going to change, Mehreen snatched her file from them and went out. Once she got home, something caught her attention. Attached to her report was that of a lady that mentioned that she needed a biopsy. Actually, the center had mixed her report with someone else’s, but still when they compiled the information, they released the results on Mehreen’s name. She could not stop thanking God for having saved her from doing a biopsy, because as per her knowledge, once you start doing biopsy, it could be endless. Who would want to be pricked all her life? Finally she was referred to a very good hospital, where Doctor Samah did all her best to try to find out what the root cause. She saw the report from the previous Diagnostic Center and noticed that it could be a wrong one. However, she advised Mehreen to ignore it. Dr. Sama was very patient and jotted down all the information that she needed to know about Mehreen. Mehreen knew that because no one has had this issue in her family for generations, and that she had a son whom she breastfed till he was two, her chances for breast cancer was quite less. Dr. Sama advised her to go for the Ferritin and Vitamin D tests to start her treatment. The result came as a lack of deficiency in both and therefore was given medication. Needless to say, all these treatments and medications were not covered under insurance and drove Mehreen more anxious. Dr. Sama advised her to do another breast ultrasound, as well as a breast mammogram. The result conclude that it was BI-RADS 3, but there was no need to go for any biopsy at this stage. Additionally, Dr. Sama encouraged her to have a healthy diet, less stress and to take the medications she had advised to combat hormonal imbalance. She also assured her that there was nothing to worry about, but continuous follow up was recommended. So, Mehreen got back home, a bit relieved and made up her mind to make her own diet plan. First she required to add foods that were going to boost her Vitamin D and Iron and from now on she was going to have more dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cheese), green leafy vegetables (spinach, pak choi, broccoli, cabbage…), pulses (lentils, red kidney beans..), fruits (strawberries, bananas, apples, cherries, grapes, avocado, papaya…), meat and fish. She also recommended green tea or other herbal teas, to be mixed with honey, at least twice per day. Of course, drinking about two liters of water daily is advisable. In terms of cooking oil, she recommended sunflower oil, and not forgetting to emphasize that olive oil was the best of all. As far as exercise is concerned, she said that she is always super-active; doing her own house chores and often going for long walks, helped her maintain her weight. She had also not given up on the supplements prescribed by her doctor. The good news is that after six months, when she has gone for another mammogram, she was diagnosed with BI-RADS 1 and that would mean she would only require a follow up after a year, just to be on a safer side. Mehreen has shared her personal experience with me, mentioning that she wanted to warn women about taking the decision of going for biopsy or surgery without getting a second opinion. If we wish to, we can take an initiative to help ourselves and by taking care of ourselves. Things to know about BI-RADS categories:
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AuthorWriting keeps me alive. After the success of my first work- "OBSTINACY: The Dauntless Chase", which was published in April 2013, I am currently working on my upcoming novel, "Bereft" to be released soon. Don't ever give up. Life is the best teacher." Archives
December 2023
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