What is a medical hex?

What exactly does this mean?

It refers to a “sentence” pronounced over our health status. Perhaps someone is told “you have about 6 months to get your affairs in order. Nothing more I can do.” Conversely, it could be the proverbial “clean bill of health.” Either way, this is no way to live our lives.

Many follow the ritual of yearly exams. Not telling you to skip this step; many an early diagnosis has led to less complicated & deleterious treatment regimens.

But consider this: what if one of these exams leads to further testing? An example would be a mammogram. A suspicious picture of something leads to a biopsy. This biopsy paints the dismal diagnosis of an advanced stage of cancer, not previously recognized or “caught.” Now what?

You are told the treatment regime will consist of chemotherapy, perhaps radiation, may be even the loss of a breast. You undergo whatever is recommended without hesitation. Your entire world is turned upside down–because of a diagnosis, a picture or lab result.

Let’s take a sharp turn.

Your oncologist informs you there’s been a mistake. You never had cancer. Your biopsy was not yours at all. It belonged to someone else.

All of this time, you’ve been led to believe your life was held in the balance. The balance of timely follow-up. The balance of concise treatment at the prescribed time. The balance of power.

You could sue the hospital. You could sue the doctor. The law would probably be on your side. But I’m going to ask you to re-read the above paragraph regarding balance.

We co-create something here without realizing we are doing it. We give over power to those whom we believe know our bodies better than we do. That must change. How?

You could argue, & rightly so, we take our vehicles to a mechanic because we know little to nothing except how to drive & put gas in them. That would be me.

But–imagine if we took even a few cursory courses on “what goes on beneath the hood.” If we decide to go a few steps further; take more which will delve a little deeper. Certainly it wouldn’t make us experts. But it would provide us with a working knowledge of our cars–what to look for before something serious “sneaks” up on us.

Our bodies should be more precious to us than our automobiles. Yet we spend just about as much time learning about them, as we do our mode of transportation.

You are the advocate, proponent, enforcer & cheerleader of your body. What you put in it, what you leave out. What you assimilate, digest, & excrete on a daily basis is your responsibility. And I’m not speaking exclusively to what’s on your plate.

The world has much to say about your body–how you look, how you move, what you put on it, what you won’t. It favors those who lead a “healthy” lifestyle, & disdains those who don’t fit the picture.

Let’s revisit what pictures or appearances had to say.

A picture, a snapshot of a moment in time in this body, said someone had breast cancer. That person underwent treatment not needed. What could’ve been done differently? Perhaps a second opinion? Maybe. What about a re-do of the testing? Yes, that would’ve been helpful. However, neither of these options would even be fathomed, if the premise of power didn’t come into play. Balance of power.

Back to our original question, with a little more clarity about the answer. Medical hexing. Before you allow anyone–from fitness guru to medical practitioner pronounce “sentence” over your body for better or worse (in the end both are based on some sort of appearance) take a moment. Better still, back up. Get to know what “goes on beneath the hood.” That way, you know your vehicle’s habits, idiosyncrasies, & reactions. Then, if you are in need of a mechanic, you can speak confidently about the issues which present.

The world is full of mechanics. Find one which aligns with your make, model & year.

All for now. Keep up and keep at it.

Question? Comment? Contact me at serrenity.c@gmail.com