I’ve decided to take a different route with my post today and discuss something that can affect everyone, and that has extreme personal relevance for me.
Diabetes saved my life.
Now, I haven’t come to accept my other disease as much as I have embraced and accepted my cancer survivorship, but for all the ways that diabetes could make my life more difficult or kill me, it has also kept me alive.
If you read “My Story” you can get a more detailed account. But sticking to basic facts, I got diabetes when I was nearly 11. When I was 12, I was at an endocrinology appointment for the diabetes when my doctor found my tumor. Had I not had that appointment, who knows when the tumor would’ve been found or if it would have metastasized.
So in the same way that a semi-normal check-up played such a huge role in my life, it can do the same for anyone else. My advice? Have check-ups on a regular basis!
Just because you are an adult now and don’t have a parent dragging you in to see the pediatrician despite your protests does not mean that you should only see a doctor when you are sick. Having routine check-ups or physical exams once or twice a year allows you to keep track of your health. Even if your doctor doesn’t find something as life-threatening as a tumor, you may learn that, hey, you should probably exercise a little more to lower that cholesterol.
Preventative care is the best kind of care – you can get rid of health detriments before you might have to experience them. Because really, what’s worse? Spending a little time once or twice a year in a doctor’s office, or spending time in the hospital once you find something too late?
Just something to think about. And while you’re thinking about it, enjoy this silly video from Johnson & Johnson about visiting the doctor. Or if you’re looking for something a bit more serious, check out the second video. It discusses a more specific topic: why routine physicals are so important for men.
