What is the deal with women's health care?

This last week has been busy in the area of women's healthcare. From the abortion coverage -ban language in the health care reform bill to the new guidelines for mammograms that were released (pap smears too), women are probably a little confused. Are our rights being valued? Are we being valued?

What brings it all home for me are the personal stories. My friend Susan writes in defense of mammograms on her blog Toddler Planet and tells her powerful story of learning about her inflammatory breast cancer through the Internet at a talk given to the American Cancer Society, reprinted on the blog she founded Mothers With Cancer.

As I read Susan's twitter feed on Tuesday morning, she was counting down the minutes until TV crew arrived at her house to interview her on the subject; I myself was headed to my yearly OB/GYN appointment, my main objective being to leave with an order for a mammogram and breast MRI. I am 36, but an MRI is recommended for women younger than 40 with risk factors - my risk factors? Chemotherapy and radiation to the chest 8 years ago when I battled Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Other risk factors can include, for instance, having a sister or mother who had breast cancer. I was fairly sure I would leave with the order - cancer in your health history can do that for you. But what if you aren't high risk? What to do? Wouldn't it be tragic to miss the early detection, which is so key for the survival of women with cancer?

I left the office with my mammogram order, but immediately thought of a fellow elementary School mom, Heide, whose girls my girls adore. We both have girls named Ava and those two girls have played together at the park close to our school. "Hi Ava, want to come play in the sand, Ava?" "Ok, Ava." They  are SO cute! My little Ava loves her little Ava. And Lily loves to play with Ava's older sister, Genevieve. Genevieve is in 1st grade, but had Lily's kindergarten teacher last year. They run around in the grass together, giggling about I don't know what. Heide has been battling cancer for 18 months. It started out as breast cancer, she went into remission, then it returned...and now is in all of her major organs, including her brain and bones. She has come to the end of all FDA approved treatments and has been given little hope. Her grace and strength through all of this has impressed everyone around her. It breaks my heart thinking of little Ava and Genevieve growing up without their wonderful mother. Heide also has a twin sister, like I do. It is so hard to imagine life without your twin...Heide's many friends from our school are coming together to hold a benefit run on Saturday, December 12th in San Jose.

I feel the need to get more educated on what all of this health news really means for women. Nationally and in my local community. I'll be making some calls to my senator, getting my mammogram and MRI, supporting the Peals of Wisdom campaign and doing a fun run at my neighborhood park. This stuff is not "just politics" - this is real life. And it impacts ALL women.

Original Silicon Valley Moms Blog post. Linsey is a mom of three, cancer survivor, technology and media attorney, and author of the blog Me Too You.