Proposed Mastectomy Law Change

(written by a surgeon);

I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes when I had to tell them t
hey 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.