Doctor Doctor

So I called up a doctors office in Cupertino yesterday and got an appointment for today. The local Berkeley clininc told me that I would have to wait weeks and that it would cost an arm and a leg. The Cupertino place was entirely reasonable. And, surprisingly, not homophobic.
Lesbians have higher cancer death rates that straight women and are less likely to see doctors, especially gynocologists. It doesn’t require a huge study to figure out why. Being hassled at checkups does not usually result in quality medical care or a desire to return any time soon. My experiences with the south bay have been such that it was a pleasent surprise not to be hassled or lectured about my poor birth control habits (so far 100% successful) and the many other things doctors have found it in their hearts to misunderstand and condemn.
But I still hate doctors’ offices with their ugly faux-sterility and their false promises of health and cures. The fasting for blood tests doesn’t help matters. So when I got my signed paperwork for school, I was out the door and on the road before it occurred to me that I was supossed to get preventative stuff against the sort of ear blockage that Christi had. (Caused by the type of ear plugs that we both wear and apparently very common in ear-plug wearing rock musicians.) Ooops. Didn’t turn around. Didn’t go back. Even very nice doctors are still doctors.
I can only imagine what my mom, who worked for many years as a medical technologist, would think of my anti-healthcare attitude.

Published by

Charles Céleste Hutchins

Supercolliding since 2003

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