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Women's Health

A gynecologist asked women how visits could be improved. Thousands responded, in detail.

"How would you design/optimize a visit to the gynecologist’s office? No detail is too small.”

Photo credit: Canva

Many would agree that gynecology visits could be improved upon.

When picturing a doctor’s office, you might imagine a less than warm atmosphere. Those oh-so-lovely fluorescent lights instantly come to my mind. Imagine if a doctor told you, “I want to design our visit in a way that makes you feel most comfortable.” Suddenly that annual check-up doesn’t sound so dreadful after all.

Dr. Ryan Stewart, a urogynecologist at the Midwest Center for Pelvic Health, recently asked women to weigh in on the redesign of his office. Posting the question to X, he wrote: “I have the opportunity to design my office from scratch. I’m asking women. How would you design/optimize a visit to the gynecologist’s office? No detail is too small.”

gynecology, gynecologist, women's health, medicine, OBGYN The gynecologist's office is a vulnerable place.Photo credit: Canva

His tweet ended with “If I’ve ever had a tweet worthy of virality, it’s this one.”

And boy was he right. His tweet nearly instantly received thousands of replies. Turns out, there are a lot of ways to improve a visit to the gyno.

Including:

Empathy toward sexual trauma

— (@)

This includes starting the exam off asking if a patient has any trauma, and not dismissing feelings of discomfort, according to commenters.

Improved intimacy

— (@)

As part of improved privacy, many advocated to not be asked if an intern can observe while the intern is still in the room.

"It's hard to say no to them," one person wrote.

Another added "I'm sitting on the table in the gown and [the gyno] brings in this young guy and says 'you don't mind him observing this do you?' I consented but have been pissed off ever since and never went back to her."

One person mentioned that their current doctor recently swapped the thin, exposing paper gown for spa style robes, adding both privacy and a dash of luxury.

Diverse posters

— (@)

This suggestion comes aptly timed, as the diagram (above) of a black fetus recently inspired a viral conversation. Many were noting that they had never seen one in medical imagery before.

One person remarked, "I am 53 years old and have never seen myself represented in anything in a doctor's office, even pamphlets. Change that!"

Mental health screenings

— (@)

Waiting until the clothes are ON to disclose important info

"Don’t discuss care or diagnoses when people are naked," pleaded a commenter in a now-deleted tweet. "I remember how much more respected and comfortable I felt when a new gynaecologist introduced himself to me while I was clothed, did the exam, then had me get dressed and meet him in his office to discuss care! Much better!"

Bottom line: It's already a vulnerable time. Let people have a moment to get comfortable.

One person added "I have always had to specifically ask to be able to talk to my doctor clothed first. Even when I hadn't met that doctor yet. I feel like that should be default, not up to me to ask for. It's such a power imbalance already, don't add unnecessary vulnerability."

Ditching the pink

— (@)

To some, it's mildly annoying. To others, it's even triggering.

One person tweeted, "I went through a breast cancer scare, & EVERY women's medical office I went to–pink EVERYWHERE. I was at a really terrified moment in my life, & pink, pink, pink. I 100% can't stand it anymore."

Offering pain meds

— (@)

Potentially painful procedures like IUD insertions or cervical biopsies typically only offer medication upon request. This Twitter user suggested offering them, making it clear that the patient has the option.

More accessibility in the exam and waiting rooms

— (@)

Tables that lower for those with mobility issues as well as higher waiting room chairs were among the most frequently suggested items.

And lastly … a variety of speculum sizes

gynecology, gynecologist, speculum, OBGYN, women's health, pap smear Speculums may be metal or plastic, but they're always cold.Photo credit: Canva

""A wide variety of speculum sizes, and introduction to the exam room including a play by play of how the visit will go," wrote one person in a now-deleted tweet. "Most people never get this and the office staff never ask if it’s their first exam and most people wouldn’t disclose fear or stress if they have it."

The general consensus: and while you're at it, warm them up too.

Dr. Stewart’s tweet did receive constructive criticism asking for more inclusion

— (@)

Dr. Stewart welcomed the insight, sending a follow-up tweet that read:“Folks have [correctly] pointed out that I [incorrectly] said “women” when what I should have said was “folks who may need gynecologic care.” I named the practice with this in mind @midwestpelvis, but I find that I still have a lot of internalized/implicit bias.”

This viral thread might have started a trend. Soon after another medical practitioner tweeted:

“Love urogynecologist Dr. Stewart asking for input on ideal office design and wanted to ask the oncology community something similar: given that no one wants to come to a cancer doctor…what makes the experience MOST comfortable?”

Though Dr. Stewart describes his philosophy online as “I want you to leave every appointment feeling as though you’ve learned more about yourself,” it’s lovely to see that he is equally invested in learning about his patients as well.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

From Your Site Articles

health

Community

Community rallies around doctor who often sees patients for free after he's diagnosed with cancer

"I'm thankful I got cancer because I am the happiest man on the planet no matter the outcome."

Photo credit: Canva

Community steps up when local doctor is diagnosed with cancer.

Going to the doctor can be expensive, especially for those that are under-insured or flat-out uninsured. Unfortunately, many who fall into those groups simply avoid going to the doctor all together, which may save money in the long run but could be extremely dangerous for their health. But one doctor has been trading free and nearly free office visits for smiles. Dr. Michael Zollicoffer is a family practitioner in Baltimore, Maryland and for the past 40 years, he's been running his medical practice on a "pay what you can" policy.

Inevitably, this means that sometimes he doesn't get paid at all, and often when a small payment is offered, he simply refuses. He much prefers that his community members are taken care of and have peace of mind about their health. It's a kind gesture that his community appreciates but, unfortunately, kindness doesn't equate to an overflowing bank account. But Zollicoffer doesn't care about the money.

"Forget that dollar bill. I'm going to see you no matter what. You walk in that door, you will be seen. You bring your grandma with you, I will see her too," Zollicoffer tells CBS Sunday Morning.

gif of animated doctor checking a patient Youre Fine Helen Keller GIF by caitcadieuxGiphy

The good doctor was used to helping people, young and old. What he wasn't prepared for was a diagnosis of two different kinds of cancers while his own medical insurance had lapsed. There he was, a helper needing help with no doctor outside of himself willing to trade treatment for smiles and gratitude. Zollicoffer, now diagnosed with rectal and renal cancer, had no insurance and no extra money to pay for radiation treatments which can cost anywhere from $4,500-$50,000.

He was ready to accept whatever time he had left with his new diagnosis, but the community he had been serving most of his adult life had other plans. They rallied around the beloved doctor to show up for him just as he's shown up for them. Though the community is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Baltimore area, they're rich with empathy and a sense of belonging to something greater than themselves. After some collaboration, patients of the kind doctor decided to start donation efforts with crowdfunding.

$red and white sign that reads, \Community$ His community really came through. Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

"Dr. Z will not give up on you so we damn sure ain't giving up on him," one of his patients says when another chimes in, "whatever needs to be done to save Dr. Z, we're going to do it."

Dr. Zollicoffer has clearly made an impact on his patients and they have returned the favor in a big way. Their crowdfunding measures brought in more than $100,000, allowing him to pay for his treatments and keeping him as an integral part of the community for as long as possible. The efforts from his patients haven't been in vain either; Zollicoffer has started his treatments and currently his health outlook is positive. The doctor was also able to access his health insurance again, which will help offset the cost of his treatments.

Of course, Dr. Zollicoffer has no plan to do anything for himself with whatever extra money will be left after he finishes up radiation. Instead, he's going to put it back into the community while still continuing his noble work.

"I'm thankful I got cancer," Zollicoffer says while choking up. "Because I am the happiest man on the planet no matter what the outcome. What we have shown and why we are sitting in this table right now to show America this is what you're about. We['re] about giving. I can't make it without them and nor can they make it without me."

From Your Site Articles

building community

Health

Doctors share bizarre things about the human body that we still can't explain

No one knows why anesthesia actually works.

Photo credit: Canva

We know a lot, but we clearly don't know everything.

Ever watch a period piece movie or TV show where the well intentioned doctors used maggots in hopes of cleaning a wound? Or when lobotomies were the tried-and-true method of relieving mental disorders? We’ve come quite a long way in terms of medical progress since those days, but in other ways, we are just as much making our best guess about how the human body actually works as we were in the maggot days.

Even doctors can admit that many biological ins-and-outs remain a mystery, which can be frustrating as a patient when you’re told to take certain medications "because it helps” this or that ailment, without actually knowing why. But at the same time, you have to kind of marvel at how much there is yet to discover, even within us. It only further shows the need to continue investing in medical research, but that’s a different conversation.

Recently, several doctors online shared many things that we still don’t really know about the human body, and some of the answers were pretty surprising:

“I’m an anesthesiologist. We still don’t really know why inhaled volatile anesthetics like sevoflurane, the principal anesthetic agent used to maintain general anesthesia, work. We kind of have an idea of maybe how it happens, but really we don’t know. It’s commonly said in my field that whoever figures this out will win the next Nobel prize in medicine.”

doctor providing anesthesia to a patient Weird...but effective. Photo credit: Canva

That’s interesting. And now for something a tad grosser…

“We apparently don't know precisely how our bodies can distinguish gas from poop. We have some ideas, we know there are a ton of nerve endings in the area, but the precise mechanism of our bodies telling our brains ‘this is a fart, let loose’ isn't really understood. What blows my mind is, it's distinct enough that we even pass gas while asleep. That difference must be wired DEEP!”

a person holding their behind that's glowing red to signify gas We don't know how our bodies know, but thank goodness they do. Photo credit: Canva

Quite a few answers pertained to some topics we might never actually solve.

“The Role of Our DNA: We’ve sequenced the human genome, but a large part of it remains unexplained.”

a hand holding a strand of DNA Seems pretty important. Photo credit: Canva

“I’m a derm. We don’t know what exactly causes itching, like the molecular pathways for it. That’s why it can be so hard to find a good treatment when a patient comes in for itchy skin.”

a woman scratching her arm Trial and error.Photo credit: Canva

“I'm a sleep specialist. While we do have some good theories about some of the functions of REM as far as how it affects the brain and health, we still don't fully understand the purpose of dreaming. Like, why do we dream at all and why do dreams have a narrative instead of random incomprehensible imagery? Unfortunately this is unlikely to even be solved..”

a woman sleeping Maybe our brains get bored while we're out and want to watch a self-made movie? Photo credit: Canva

There were a few mysteries that pertain specifically to women’s health. Historically, women's health research has been significantly underfunded and understudied, so this is fairly unsurprising.

“OBGYN here: we still don’t know exactly what makes labor start. We know all about the mechanics and physiology, but we don’t know what makes the average uterus say it’s ‘go time.’”

pregnant woman holding her stomach in pain When the body knows, it knows. Photo credit: Canva

“Apparently we know next to nothing about fibroids, which like 75% of women have at some point in their lives. That's great, considering that the largest one removed was 100 lbs- so not exactly a minor issue. There are theories about different hormones and what things put you at higher risk, but aside from having surgery to have your existing ones removed, there is basically no information on what you can to do prevent them from coming back.”

doctor presenting a model of a uterus while a woman sits on a medical chair in the background It's a big deal and we need to understand it. Photo credit: Canva

There was also talk of how our gut—how we process nutrition, and how that affects our mental health—is somewhat of a final frontier in medicine.

“We don't know the precise mechanism by which B12 deficiency causes nerve damage. We know that it happens, but not why.”

collection of foods around a sign that says, "Vitamin B12" B12, the final frontier.Photo credit: Canva

“Not MD but PhD, right now we are working on the connection between our intestinal microbiome and neuropsychiatric disease and brain aging. For instance, people with inflammatory bowel disease are more likely to develop dementia and experience co-morbid anxiety and depression, but we don't know why.”

“The Gut Microbiome: While it's well-known that the gut plays a huge role in digestion, researchers are discovering just how much our gut bacteria affect other parts of our health, like mood, immunity, and even brain function.”

diagram of the digestive system with a close up of gut bacteria Some say we have two brains: in the head and in the gut.Photo credit: Canva

For those who have ever taken anti-anxiety medication…

“Benzodiazepines, BZD, are medications like Xanax and Valium. They produce anti-anxiety effects. And they have a very distinct chemical shape to fit into the BZD site in a group of five proteins. But we don’t know what is supposed to go there. Many medications are analogs of naturally binding molecules that we copy and then use to create an effect. The BZD site is for something, we just don’t know what.”

close up of a bunch of pills Photo credit: Canva

By and large, mental health is still the Wild Wild West for medical professionals, it seems.

“Doctor here. Off the top of my head, here's a few deceptively big ones:

Psychiatry is still shockingly infantile in our understanding of human disorders. It's constantly in a state of flux, we don't understand a lot about the meds we currently use, and the diagnostic criteria for disorders still changes as we realize "hey maybe all these behaviors aren't the same source disorder". It's incredibly hard to diagnose when the criteria is largely based on self report and subjective observations.
To a lesser degree than #1, neurology is still learning a lot. It's further because you can observe more objective findings in neuro than psych, but we still struggle a lot with how brains function."

a red cut out of a head with a tangle of string where the brain would be; a blue cut out of a head with a spiral of string where the brain should be Aren't we all just brains trying to understand ourselves? Photo credit: Canva

And yet, another doctor writes:

“One of the few ABSOLUTES in medical science is that nobody born blind has ever developed schizophrenia.”

Goes to show, we might be in the age of information, but there is still so much of the unknown to marvel at. Hopefully it keeps us humble and curious.

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science

Science

Scientists develop sensors that could heal bones in weeks, not months

These tiny implants could make a big difference in healing broken bones

www.canva.com

At the University of Oregon, scientists have created a potential medical breakthrough— well, technically a “mend-through.” These researchers have created tiny implants that could help speed up the healing process of mending broken bones.

If you have suffered a broken bone, you know that proper healing requires a combination of rest, rehabilitation, and time. Your doctor likely prescribed various physical therapy exercises and increased their intensity to ensure that the bone is properly mended at top strength and mobility.

However, the key to completing recovery is finding a balance. Too little and infrequent resistance exercise won’t help “encourage” the bone enough to build strength as it heals. Too much training and the injury could become worse. Depending on the severity of the break, it could take months for a broken leg or arm to heal completely since it is difficult to determine if the bone is strong enough for more intense rehabilitation or if it still needs less resistance training to prevent harm. Recovery time also varies from person to person, too.

www.canva.com

That’s the issue the researchers at the University of Oregon tackled. They created a series of small implants with sensors that can provide data in real time at the injury site to help better determine if a bone needs more resistance rehab or if it has been overworked. In a technological study, the implants “significantly improved” the healing time for broken femurs in lab rats, cutting down a healing time from four-to-six months down to as little as eight weeks.

“One of the most impactful aspects of this work is that our resistance rehabilitation could regenerate the femur to normal strength within eight weeks without biological stimulants, and we’re really excited about that,” said study leader Dr. Kylie Williams.

While monitoring their bones using the sensors, the researchers found that the rodents that were given proper physical therapy in their exercise wheels with increasing resistance to promote building strength had their femurs heal much faster and more effectively than rodents that were sedentary. This included rodents that needed their training lowered at times depending on the data retrieved from the sensors.

After seeing such positive results, campus-startup Penderia Technologies is working on perfecting the implants to a battery-free, wearable version for human patients to monitor their progress.

Recovery of any sort is a push/pull process. Depending on where you’re at, you might need to further push yourself forward, even when it isn’t comfortable. On the other hand, you might need to pull back a little bit at certain points to make sure you’re not overwhelming yourself.

Finding the balance is tricky but doable. It especially helps when you know that you’re not alone. You can also find support in your family, friends, physicians, and therapists in your life. If not those people, whatever you have experienced has been experienced before, no matter what your “broken bone” is. Whether it’s a bad habit you wish to get rid of, a new goal in your life, or a literal broken bone, it has impacted someone else that you can learn from. There are resources available to help you determine whether you need to push yourself a little harder or when to rest and recover.

Healing something that’s broken takes a combination of effort, rest, and time. That’s not just for femurs, that’s for everything.

From Your Site Articles

health care

Family

When her 5-year-old broke his leg, this mom raised $0. It's actually inspiring.

Her crowdfunding alternative is so obvious, it's shocking America hasn't taken advantage of it.

OrthoIndy

A bad injury doesn't come with a cost.

Freddie Teer is a normal boy. He loves Legos, skateboarding, and horsing around with his older brother Ollie. But in March 2017, his mother faced every parent's worst nightmare.Freddie was doing tricks down the stairs of his front porch when he fell off his bike—and his bike fell on him. "[He was] just crying, wouldn't let us touch his leg, couldn't put any weight on his leg. We knew," mom Ashley says.

Ashley rushed Freddie to the emergency room, where an X-ray confirmed the bones in his left shin were broken in half. He needed to be sedated, his bones had to be set, and he was put in a cast. It was an agonizing day for the Teers. But it's what happened next that was truly inspiring.

green and yellow bike lying in grass beside red shoes Freddie fell of his bike—and his bike fell on him. Photo via iStock

We've all seen heartwarming stories of communities coming together to raise money online to help people cover medical care costs for themselves and loved ones.

There was the Kentucky mom with stage 4 cancer whose family collected over $1 million. The New Orleans police officer whose unit banked thousands for her chemotherapy. The Colorado man who lost his legs and whose friends crowdfunded his recovery.

Many Americans raise money and receive donations to cover healthcare costs.

Photo byMonam/Pixabay

While Freddie's injury required major treatment, none of Ashley's friends raised any money for him.

No one from their town took up a collection or held a bake sale.

No GoFundMe page was started to help cover his bills.

Instead, Ashley and Freddie walked out of the hospital owing nothing. Because they live in Canada.

"You just leave," Ashley says. "You don't pay anything."

Incredible.

Under Canada's healthcare system, people like the Teers can see their doctors and go to the hospital when they're hurt or sick, and they don't get charged.

So heartwarming.

It almost wasn't this way.

Ashley was born and raised in St. Louis in the U.S. where health care is expensive and complicated. In 2005, she fell in love with a Canadian man and moved with him to Abbotsford, British Columbia, where they and their five children will enjoy heavily subsidized, affordable health care coverage at a low premium for the remainder of their natural lives.

"We're able to go when we need help and we get help," Ashley says.

Just amazing.

As Freddie recovered, no one showed up at the Teer home with a large check or collection plate full of cash.

Instead, Ashley and her family were "supported through meals and just that kind of care"—meals they were able to enjoy without having to decide between enduring the shame of hitting up their friends for money or facing the prospect of sliding into bankruptcy.

Freddie (right) and his brother Ollie.

Photo by Ashley Teer.

The most uplifting part? Middle-income Canadians like the Teers pay taxes at roughly the same rates as Americans and still get their bones fixed for free at hospitals.

Not everything about Freddie's recovery process was smooth.

The first night, Freddie tossed and turned in severe pain, unable to sleep. Ashley, however, was able to call her family doctor—who she never has to pay since he is compensated by a public system that continues to have overwhelming public support to this day (though support has dipped slightly in recent years)—to get her son a codeine prescription. Miraculous!

Canada's public health care plan doesn't cover drugs. But, inspiringly, because of price controls, medicine is way cheaper there.

The Teers did lean on their friends and family for help while Freddie got better.

"We were kind of just asking people to pray," she explains—primarily to lift her son's spirits, and not, thankfully, to ask God to provide sufficient funds to cover basic medical care that every human living in a fair and prosperous society should have access to.

Even though he wasn't able to move around, friends and relatives eagerly invited Freddie to hang out during his recovery instead avoiding him out of guilt for not pledging enough to his GoFundMe campaign.

young boy in a cast sitting by corn stalks

Freddie with his cast in the garden.

Photo by Ashley Teer.

Just. Wow.

With support from his community, Freddie's cast came off six weeks later, right on schedule.

Healthy once more, Freddie went right back to enjoying extreme sports like BMX biking, skateboarding, and snowboarding, and Ashley is free to let him enjoy them without worrying about one fall wiping out their entire life savings and leaving her family destitute.

"Where we live, we're not stressful when things happen to our kids," Ashley says. "It's not a stressful time financially, so the whole family is not anxious."

It's peace of mind that she—and the residents of virtually every other rational, wealthy, industrialized country in the world—share.

"I feel safe, and I feel like my voice is heard," she says. "I can't imagine living in a place that I didn't feel that way."

This article originally appeared seven years ago.

From Your Site Articles

Health

30 things people don't realize you're doing because of your depression

Do any of these speak to you?

Photo by Reneé Thompson on Unsplash

Depression manifests in many ways.

Most people imagine depression equals “really sad," and unless you've experienced depression yourself, you might not know it goes so much deeper than that. Depression expresses itself in many different ways, some more obvious than others. While some people have a hard time getting out of bed, others might get to work just fine—it's different for everyone.

To find out how depression shows itself in ways other people can't see, we asked The Mighty mental health community to share one thing people don't realize they're doing because they have depression.

Here's what they had to say:

1. “In social situations, some people don't realize I withdraw or don't speak much because of depression. Instead, they think I'm being rude or purposefully antisocial." — Laura B.

2. “I struggle to get out of bed, sometimes for hours. Then just the thought of taking a shower is exhausting. If I manage to do that, I am ready for a nap. People don't understand, but anxiety and depression is exhausting, much like an actual physical fight with a professional boxer." — Juli J.

3. “Agreeing to social plans but canceling last minute. Using an excuse but really you just chickened out. It makes you think your friends don't actually want to see you, they just feel bad. Obligation." — Brynne L.

4. “Hiding in my phone. Yes, I am addicted to it, but not like other people. I don't socialize, I play games or browse online stores to distract myself from my negative thoughts. It's my safe bubble." — Eveline L.

5. “Going to bed at 9 p.m. and sleeping throughout the night until 10 or 11 a.m." — Karissa D.

6. “Isolating myself, not living up to my potential at work due to lack of interest in anything, making self-deprecating jokes. I've said many times before, 'I laugh, so that I don't cry.' Unfortunately, it's all too true." — Kelly K.

man sitting on chair covering his eyesPhoto by christopher lemercier on Unsplash

7. “When I reach out when I'm depressed it's 'cause I am wanting to have someone to tell me I'm not alone. Not because I want attention." — Tina B.

8. “I don't like talking on the phone. I prefer to text. Less pressure there. Also being anti-social. Not because I don't like being around people, but because I'm pretty sure everyone can't stand me." — Meghan B.

9. “I overcompensate in my work environment… and I work front line at a Fitness Centre, so I feel the need to portray an 'extra happy, bubbly personality.' As soon as I walk out the doors at the end of the day, I feel myself 'fall.' It's exhausting… I am a professional at hiding it." — Lynda H.

10. “The excessive drinking. Most people assume I'm trying to be the 'life of the party' or just like drinking in general. I often get praised for it. But my issues are much deeper than that." — Teresa A.

11. “Hiding out in my room for hours at a time watching Netflix or Hulu to distract my mind or taking frequent trips to the bathroom or into another room at social gatherings because social situations sometimes get to me." — Kelci F.

12. “Saying I'm tired or don't feel good… they don't realize how much depression can affect you physically as well as emotionally." — Lauren G.

more at instagram @joshrh19

Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash

13. “Answering slowly. It makes my brain run slower, and I can't think of the answers to the questions as quickly. Especially when someone is asking what I want to do — I don't really want anything. I isolate myself so I don't have to be forced into a situation where I have to respond because it's exhausting." — Erin W.

14. “Sometimes I'll forget to eat all day. I can feel my stomach growling but don't have the willpower to get up and make something to eat." — Kenzi I.

15. “I don't talk much in large groups of people, especially when I first meet them. I withdraw because of my anxiety and depression. People think I'm 'stuck up.' I'm actually scared out of my mind worrying they don't like me, or that they think I'm 'crazy' by just looking at me…" — Hanni W.

16. “Not keeping in touch with anyone, bad personal hygiene and extremely bad reactions to seemingly trivial things." — Jenny B.

17. “Being angry, mean or rude to people I love without realizing it in the moment. I realize my actions and words later and feel awful I had taken out my anger on people who don't deserve it." — Christie C.

18. “Purposely working on the holidays so I can avoid spending time with family. It's overwhelming to be around them and to talk about the future and life so I avoid it." — Aislinn G.

19. “My house is a huge mess." — Cynthia H.

20. “I volunteer for everything, from going to PTO meetings to babysitting to cleaning someone else's house for them. I surround myself with situations and obligations that force me to get out of bed and get out of the house because if I'm not needed, I won't be wanted." — Carleigh W.

If you're struggling with depression, check out these resources. You aren't alone.

This story was originally published on The Mighty and was posted seven years ago.

From Your Site Articles

Joy

Elderly millennials, this hilarious mammogram PSA was made just for you

“If you collected Beanie Babies, it’s time for your first mammogram.”

@followmercy/TikTok

Millennial nostalgia is finally being weaponized for good.

Boy, do we millennials love our nostalgia. And who can blame us? Our childhood was a colorful kaleidoscope of analog delights—the thrill of hearing Mr. Moviefone giving showtimes options, or better yet, hitting up the local Blockbuster for a movie night in, the joy of literally any Happy Meal toy…ugh, it really was a simpler time.

Also, our generation’s cartoons were hands down the best cartoons ever. There, I said it.

But sadly, millennials, our generation-wide nostalgia is now being used against us. At least it’s ultimately for our own good.

The staff over at the Mercy Healthcare Company released a tongue-in-cheek PSA featuring relics of our bygone era, saying that if you remember them, “it’s time to schedule your first mammogram.”

“If you collected Beanie Babies, it’s time for your first mammogram,” says one of the nurses in the video. Welp, I’m done for.

Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” portable DVD players, the “Rachel haircut,” Myspace, and of course, the sound of dial-up internet etched in all of our brains also made the list, among a few others.

Watch:

@followmercy What do Beanie Babies, Myspace and dial-up internet have in common? If you remember when they were popular, it’s time to schedule your mammogram! #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth ♬ original sound - Mercy

Brilliant. Brutal, but brilliant.

Granted, this PSA technically doesn’t apply to all millennials. Typically, health care professionals suggest that mammograms begin at age 40 for those without a family history of breast cancer, and occur every year.

But still—message received. And well done, Mercy.

On a related note of growing older and wiser…millennials often get depicted as particularly nostalgic. But where that could get explained away by the onslaught of digitization, a measurable decline in quality of art, entertainment, clothes, etc. and living in a post 9/11 world, we can’t forget to note that perhaps we are also simply in a more nostalgic phase of life. The world around us has changed. Our place in society has changed. Our bodies have changed. It’s natural to look back with longing at what once was, since we are now more aware than ever that everything—including us—is temporary.

But that’s part of growing older—being able to hold both yearning and appreciation in our heart. Or, perhaps more appropriate in this case: scheduling that mammogram, then scouring Beanie Babies on Etsy…or whatever else delights your inner child. That’s one thing we millennials will always be good at, no matter how old we get.

From Your Site Articles

millennials

health care

A gynecologist asked women how visits could be improved. Thousands responded, in detail.

"How would you design/optimize a visit to the gynecologist’s office? No detail is too small.”

Empathy toward sexual trauma

Improved intimacy

Diverse posters

Mental health screenings

Waiting until the clothes are ON to disclose important info

Ditching the pink

Offering pain meds

More accessibility in the exam and waiting rooms

And lastly … a variety of speculum sizes

Community rallies around doctor who often sees patients for free after he's diagnosed with cancer

"I'm thankful I got cancer because I am the happiest man on the planet no matter the outcome."

Doctors share bizarre things about the human body that we still can't explain

No one knows why anesthesia actually works.

Scientists develop sensors that could heal bones in weeks, not months

These tiny implants could make a big difference in healing broken bones

When her 5-year-old broke his leg, this mom raised $0. It's actually inspiring.

Her crowdfunding alternative is so obvious, it's shocking America hasn't taken advantage of it.

Instead, Ashley and Freddie walked out of the hospital owing nothing. Because they live in Canada.

Not everything about Freddie's recovery process was smooth.

30 things people don't realize you're doing because of your depression

Do any of these speak to you?

To find out how depression shows itself in ways other people can't see, we asked The Mighty mental health community to share one thing people don't realize they're doing because they have depression.

Elderly millennials, this hilarious mammogram PSA was made just for you

“If you collected Beanie Babies, it’s time for your first mammogram.”

It took 14 years and 380 global embroiders to make one stunningly meaningful dress

Comedian perfectly sums up everything you need to know about Gen X in three definitive words

Gen X has been designated the 'worst grandparents.' Sadly, their explanation makes sense.

The super interesting reason why people in the past looked so much older than people today

Americans share 15 of the funniest things that non-Americans have said about the U.S.

Hospice nurse reveals the exact time most people die and the reasons why are fascinating

We have a small favor to ask of you

health care

"How would you design/optimize a visit to the gynecologist’s office? No detail is too small.”

Empathy toward sexual trauma

Improved intimacy

Diverse posters

Mental health screenings

Waiting until the clothes are ON to disclose important info

Ditching the pink

Offering pain meds

More accessibility in the exam and waiting rooms

And lastly … a variety of speculum sizes

"I'm thankful I got cancer because I am the happiest man on the planet no matter the outcome."

No one knows why anesthesia actually works.

These tiny implants could make a big difference in healing broken bones

Her crowdfunding alternative is so obvious, it's shocking America hasn't taken advantage of it.

Instead, Ashley and Freddie walked out of the hospital owing nothing. Because they live in Canada.

Not everything about Freddie's recovery process was smooth.

Do any of these speak to you?

To find out how depression shows itself in ways other people can't see, we asked The Mighty mental health community to share one thing people don't realize they're doing because they have depression.

“If you collected Beanie Babies, it’s time for your first mammogram.”