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| Health & Wellness |
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Your Part For Change - Taking Responsibility for Our
Health CareBy Janet Rowe of Health & Natural Lifestyles What if you could have everything you wanted from a health care system? What would you expect to pay for and what would you want to pay for in the system? What is or isn’t necessary? Recent news articles have indicated that our new Health Minister would like to see gymnasium fees tax deductible as a way of promoting wellness. This is great and a step forward in recognizing that health care needs to start with prevention. There are many areas within the current system that need to be improved like this. For instance, it takes far too long to get in to see a physician, or at least the specialist, not to mention the waiting time to get into a lab or diagnostic centre. Another area of concern is in the diagnosing arena. I have heard may stories, the latest from a client who was having digestive problems. He went to a walk-in clinic where they gave him a prescription for Zantac. After three weeks of taking the Zantac, he was still having problems so he went back to the clinic. This time he was given a prescription for something stronger. Off he went for another three weeks only to return with the same problems. On the third visit the physician ordered his patient some tests - an upper GI and small intestine barium test. When the patient phoned however, he was told there was a three month waiting list to get the tests done. He scheduled his appointment anyways, but well before the date he was suffering too much pain so he went to the emergency. There they did the testing and found out he had a hiatus hernia with stomach cancer. He was scheduled for surgery right away. He was not asked nor encouraged to get a second opinion. They simply told him he would have to have part of his stomach removed and the hernia fixed. He was not told exactly what they were going to do, any complications he might have after, just that if he didn’t have it done he would probably be dead in six months due to the cancer spreading. Talk about putting the fear of God into you! How humane was this? It’s obvious to me that people are not happy with the current diagnostic procedures covered under Alberta Health Care. Most of my clientele are actually people who feel sick but have been told there is nothing wrong with them. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have various diagnostic procedures and physicians to choose from? Would you not feel more satisfied if you could have a Nutritional/ Oxidation blood test done, or Iridology, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, or Bioenergetics/Vega Testing, or MRI’s, Cat Scans, Ultrasounds, etc., along side the traditional blood tests and X-rays? And wouldn’t it be satisfying if it was covered under Alberta Health Care? Wouldn’t it be nice to actually have more than five minutes of a doctor’s time to be able to go over your entire health scenario? Or to get some actual answers as to why you feel the way you do, without going through the stress of waiting for test results, or the fear of not knowing? People are frustrated with the lack of knowledge the doctors have regarding nutrition and the requirements of such to keep the functionality of different glands and organs functioning. People are also frustrated that the root of the problem is rarely acknowledged, prescriptions take precedence! Why are Doctors not recommending alternative method to reveal the true issue? A blood analysis, for instance, can give immediate results of a blood test, and can tell the patient what their symptoms are, based on the anomalies seen in their blood. Alternative modalities, herbal, vitamin, mineral therapies, and our diagnostic tools are having an impact on society as they are now testing the theory of cancer coming from a virus. Unfortunately, it will be a long time before that is actually taught in medical schools. There is some progress though, as we are seeing institutes like Mount Royal College and the Alberta College of Acupuncture offering complimentary medicine to meet the needs of a growing patient load. Complimentary and/or Alternative healing are finally making an impact. The Tom Baker Cancer facility is adding a breast cancer support care department. The much welcomed Wellsprings Wellness Clinic is also opening. They offer services that deal with stress, offer emotional support and they introduce therapies such as Reiki. It remains to be seen though as to how much of this will be covered under Alberta Health Care. Will it be limited like massage and chiropractic? And how will we be able to get referrals if the physician knows nothing of the benefits. Truly, one of the saddest things I see are clients whom are suffering with their disease, want to get well, want to do alternatives, but can’t afford to cover the costs because they have been off work due to their disorder. I am also saddened when clients come to see me having been told there is nothing more that can be done, and to get their affairs in order. Think about the people who want to retired but had to re-mortgage the house to pay for the treatments that are helping them. It breaks my heart to see people suffer, and yet I know that they must control their health care themselves. I can only give them love and guidance; they must still do the work. This also pertains to the changes that we want in our health care system; the people who want change have to ask for change. You need to do the work. Write, call, talk to your MLA, and ask this to go to a plebiscite. It seems to me the government can spend lots of money on same sex marriages, reviewing cleaning costs, severance packages, etc., but where is the health care system survey? Our new Health Minister Iris Evans is reachable at 1.780.417.4747 so please do your part for change. Janet Rowe, owner of Health & Natural Lifestyles Inc., offers a variety of therapies & therapeutic supplements. Call 403.212.6077 or visit www.healthy-option.com |