#424 Cousins Are Priceless

Medical Lab tech

My cousin Carolyn is a gifted woman sharing her knowledge of her profession while helping the metastatic community understand what goes on behind closed doors. Thanks, Cuz. 

It is not often that you have an opportunity to support a family member and give a shout out to your profession in one day…

Who am I?  I am fortunate enough to be one of Mary’s cousins.  

What do I do?  That is a longer conversation.  When asked what I do (for a living) I typically respond “I am a Med Tech”.  I then wait for the inevitable quizzical facial expression and the question that comes next “What’s that?” “I perform the tests on the samples that come to the laboratory.”  “Oh” – and then the conversation drops because what I and thousands of other diagnostic laboratory professionals do is behind the scenes; you have never met us but we are a very important part of your journey not only with breast cancer but with other health conditions including “wellness”.

Here is the connection:

Today is National Pathology Day (November 18, 2015).  Pathology is the study of disease.  Professionals that work in healthcare under this category help to provide information about the health status of a person at a particular point in time, a snapshot.  We are information people.  What happens to a sample (of blood or tissue) after it leaves your body?  It comes to us for testing.  For me and many other professionals in this line of work, it was never about the sample, it was all about the person that the sample came from.  The results of the tests are important because it affects how the person is going to be treated.   It’s not a specimen, it’s a person.

We are the individuals that provide the information about YOU!  When your doctor says “Your counts are good”, we are the individuals that provided that information.  When your doctor says “I’ve got some bad news”, we are the individuals that gave them that information too.  When your samples are brought to us we become connected to YOU.  We see the results before the physicians and we are rooting for you just as much as they are.  

Thanks to Mary’s One Woman, Many Lakes campaign money is being raised to help answer the questions of “Why me?” and “What’s next?” by diagnostic laboratory research professionals.

 So even though you’ve probably never met “us” when you hug your ONC Doc for the good news we’ll take that hug as well, and when the results aren’t that great we are sending you a hug thru your ONC. Doc.  I’m sending Mary a hug by writing this message.  You can send your hug by continuing to support the research.

Go to www.onewomanmanylakes.org to donate.

Thanks for reading # 424 of 7777.