OBACHAN'S SCRIBBLES

Now I don’t remember when I first noticed it, but in the autumn of 2006, I was already aware that I often feel a little tension, or feeling of fullness(?) in right abdomen when I was tired… or even when not tired. Absolutely no pain. Just the feeling that something is there. But still it never occurred to me to relate it to my cyst -- I didn’t expect it to GROW. There was another thing I was aware of at the end of summer 2006: It seemed like I started having longer periods.

Then in October, I had a very long period which lasted almost 3 weeks. Actually it was almost like having two periods back to back with the first one unfinished. No Kidding!! Until that time, I had never ever had irregular periods in my life. It had been darn regular no matter what happened in my life. So it scared the hell out of me, because, from the not-very-thorough research I did two years ago, a simplistic equation was formed in my mind: “irregular bleeding = suspected tumor.” Did my cyst turn malignant?! Or do I have something else now?!

Now, this time, I was definitely willing to go for MRI scan. But I ended up wasting some time, trying to make it less expensive. (Tell you what. Obachan is a sitngy creature, anytime, anywhere...)

Here in this rural city, MRI scan is available at several big hospitals only. And in Japan, if you go to a big hospital (with 200 beds or more) without a referral letter, “特定療養費 Special Healthcare Expenditure” will be charged at your first appointment in addition to the fee. To avoid that, I tried to get a referral letter from the clinic where I had the cancer screening two years ago.

But the clinic staff said that the doctor couldn’t write a referral letter based on two-year-old medial data. Yeah, of course. I was told to have an echography there again, but it was available on Wednesdays only, which were the days I had to work. Mmmm….Finally the staff advised me that it would probably be faster and less expensive to go directly to the big hospital without a referral letter, and I may have to have another echography there anyway. Sounds reasonable. So, avoiding my busiest weeks at work, it was almost mid December when I finally saw the doctor at the big hospital to examine what I had in my right ovary.

To be cont’d…

最 初に気づいたのがいつだったか覚えてないけど、2006年の秋にはもう、疲れた時によく、右のお腹が張った感じがするなぁと気づいてました。いや、疲れて ないときでも。痛みは全然なくて、ただ、何かがそこにあるな、って感じ。それでも、嚢腫に関係あるとは思ってませんでした。そんな育つもんだと思ってな かったので。あと、2006年の夏の終わりには、生理が長引きだしたみたい、と気づきました。

そのうち10月には、なんと3週間ぐらい続 くのが来たからびっくり。1回目のが終わらないうちに2回目が続けて来たみたいな感じで。それまで私の人生で、何が起ころうと生理が不順になったことはた だの1度もなかったもんで、これにはびびりました。2年前になまはんかに調べた事から、「不順な出血＝腫瘍の疑い」と、短絡的に思い込んでたので。あの嚢 腫が悪性化？！それとも他に何か出来たとか？！

も う今回は、絶対MRI受けようと思いましたね。でも、安く上げようとして、かえって時間をロスしてしまいました。MRIは大きな病院にしかない。200床 以上の大きな病院に紹介状なしで行くと、初診の時に特定療養費をとられる。なのでとられないように、まずは2年前に子宮癌検診を受けたクリニックに紹介状 を書いてもらおうとしたんです。(セコい？)

ところが、2年前のデータに基づいて紹介状は書けない、と言われました。まあそりゃ当然ですわな。そこのクリニックでもう一度エコー検査をするように言われたけど、水曜しかやってない。水曜は私の仕事の日・・・。うー・・・。
し まいにクリニックの人が、多分、紹介状なしで直接その大きな病院を受診したほうが早道で費用も少なくてすむかも、どのみちむこうでもまたエコー検査するか もしれないし、とアドバイスしてくれました。言われてみればそうか。で、仕事の忙しい週をはずして、やっとその大きな病院で私の右卵巣にあるものを診ても らったのは、既に12月のなかばになってました。

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Categories: Dermoid