Health Angle

If I had $1 for every bit of cancer and surgical advice I've shared this year, I'd be able to buy gold instead of selling it. (FYI, selling old, unused gold—great way to make hundreds or even thousands now given the gold market. Do NOT use that cash for gold you see advertised on TV. That's a scam.)

Anyway, I wish I'd found a site like Health Angle sooner. The founder of the site contacted me after reading my "Aureolas—Ouch" entry. Though he has personal ties to Cancer, the Web site proffers up information on all doctors and procedures via personal medical stories, input by patients such as myself and others. From a minor surgery such as my port removal to major operations like uh, quadruple bypass surgery or something like that. Reading stories posted by patients gives you a much more "real" picture of what to expect in terms of recovery, etc. All patient stories are presented anonymously, and they're edited and reviewed by a doctor prior to being published.

Perfect example: Dr. Rosenbaum didn't warn me that a minor nip-tuck on the dickle could irritate the tissue so much that I woke up with bright red boobies, convincing me that I had inflammatory breast cancer (as red boobage is a symptom.) Had I known that even in minor surgeries tissue can be displaced and therefore cause pain and irritation, I wouldn't have had to: pop [more] pills [than usual] Friday to calm down, waste Dr. Schwartz's time on the phone telling me I did not indeed have IBC, harass Chad the acupuncturist, and page the on-call surgeon on Friday and Saturday. Or go on Keflex. Had I perhaps read about red boobs on Health Angle, I could've even gone out over the weekend, as opposed to holing up in the apartment in fear of irritating the boobies.

The site is free, and though I don't peruse many (if any) health Web sites, I find this one an exception worth writing about and encourage you all to share your stories. If you don't talk about it, you can't fix it! Don't ask, don't tell is so over. So when you have five minutes, fill out their online survey on anything from a root canal to mammogram. Here's the link to the survey. It's a great resource for family members as well—reading about an upcoming procedure that your mom is having may be able to quell fears and take steps to make recovery easier.

On that note, I'm calling NYC Ralf to see if my wig can be refashioned into hair extensions. Another excuse to go to NYC. Which mother is completely cool with, but she's taking issue with me cleansing my apartment and donating my old furniture to the Salvation Army. She just doesn't get the concept of karma. A homeless dude could totally live in my Macy's armoire.