Is This a Joke?

More than two and a half years after my initial diagnosis, I sat in my physician's office waiting to begin a routine physical.

"Would you like me to perform a PAP smear today?" the doctor asked prior to beginning my physical.

"No thank you," I replied. "My gynecologist will take care of that."

To which Doc replied, "Ok, make sure you do make an appointment because you know that your risk of ovarian cancer is higher since you've had breast cancer."

I'm sure I had an incredulous look on my face, since she stuttered the following words.

"Well...it's just that it's important to be on the safe side."

As if I didn't already know this...

I understood the importance of staying on top of anything related to my health, and that my doctor was only doing her job. Nonetheless, it more than irked me that she felt the need to use a fear inducing statement to persuade me to be responsible about further exams. I don't need to be frightened into doing whatever it is I need to do to remain healthy. I'd already experienced one of the most powerful fears possible...being told that I had cancer...

"Just a few more questions before we begin the physical. Do you see an oncologist?"

"I was told it wasn't necessary since I had a double mastectomy."

"What about a mammogram?"

"There's nothing left...so there's no need for a mammogram."

Shouldn't a physician already know this? My mind was flooded with memories from earlier days after my diagnosis...