Taking charge of your own medical care is essential. But, what if you can’t figure out what is going on?
A professional patient advocate received a call from a friend after a recent breast biopsy. She felt something painful and removed the dressing found an oval shaped “blister” on her breast. How odd, she thought.
The advocate identified the “blister” as a mark from a cautery probe (used in surgery to stop bleeding). Apparently, the instrument was accidentally placed on the breast during the procedure. Her friend was furious. “I understand people make mistakes, but why was I not informed?” The chief of surgery was notified and plastic surgery was performed to repair the site.
Identifying the cause helped solve the issue.
Moral of the story—if you are confused or concerned about a health issue, contact an advocate. An advocate can be a friend, family member or a professional. Lucky for this person, her friend was a nurse and a professional advocate.
