biopsy bullshit


I had a skin rash for a few weeks on my arms. Flaking skin, red welts. It did not itch and did not hurt but it was unsightly. I finally went to the dermatologist. He diagnosed me with eczema. He gave me some creams and made an appointment for me to come back in two weeks. I used the creams, 5 different ones, still had the flaking and red welts and went to the derm appointment two weeks later. My eczema was still the same, no improvement. Just in case, the doctor cut off a piece of my arm and sent it out to the lab for a biopsy test. The doctor said it would take like 3 days for him to get the results. One week later I am still waiting.

For a full week I have been very anxious and nervous about the results yet I am forced to keep waiting - for the lab to do the testing, send the results to the doctor, and for the doctor to let me know the outcome. The procedure is taking too long, or the results are too slow to get to the doctor, or both. A week? Two weeks? A month? That's not acceptable. Patients throughout America are sitting on pins and needles awaiting biopsy results and being told whether or not they have cancer. In some cases, the biopsy results can mean life or death, yet these patients are being forced to wait weeks or longer to find out their lab results. That's bullshit. Biopsy bullshit.

The U.S. labs that do biopsy testing MUST speed up the process and/or get the results to the doctor faster. Why? Because biopsied patients in the United States of America should NOT have to wait weeks, or months, to find out if they have cancer!!!