[retiredguy123]

I recently had a medical scare that turned out to be nothing. What did I learn from this?

1. Some members of the the medical profession do a lousy job of dealing with the patient's anxiety regarding medical testing. They need to be more responsive to the patient's need to know when and how test results will be conveyed to the patient. They actually told me to wait a week to receive a test result that was available the same day. So, I had to get the results and interpret them myself. It would have been better if the doctor had called me as soon as the results were published.

2. Medical tests often reveal incidental problems that were not even tested for. Some tests, like CT scans, are extremely accurate, and often reveal potential issues that result in more testing and more anxiety for the patient.

3. In the future, I will be much more selective in agreeing to tests that a doctor wants to perform. I will not blindly accept a doctor's recommendation for testing. I want more information about the potential benefit of the test before I agree to it.

4. Nobody lives forever and I realize that I am not as afraid of dying as I used to be.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?