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Bitches, I Ain’t Gonna Die Today
What it’s like getting a cancer check done by the NHS in Scotland in 2023.
I recently had my breast and a bit of lymph tissue biopsied by the beautiful, wonderful, awesome taxpayer funded NHS in Scotland. No cancer found. All that biopsy for a whole lotta nothing makes me so happy.
Let me paint a picture for my American audience:
I asked my GP for a referral to a breast clinic and she agreed that this issue merited that referral. Less than a month later I was in a breast clinic at an outpatient hospital near me that was also staffed entirely by woman!
At no point did I feel uncomfortable or unnecessarily exposed. At no point did I feel pitied for not being in private care like some public care services in the States have a way of making you feel. The NHS is truly for everyone. Oh yeah, and at no point did anyone ask for my insurance or billing information, nor did I worry about a bill. That is what taxes are for, mate.
So look, a week later, I got a scheduled call from the consultant who has weekly meetings with her other specialist colleagues to reach a consensus on patients’ work ups, and I was told there was no worry. Just like that.
I went directly into my garden, shouted “All good!” to my partner, and we had a little hug jig around the daffodils for a sec…