Is this really that difficult?

Seems to be so.

All I need is a Mammogram and an Ultrasound. Sounds simple right? Wrong.

I don't have health insurance, so WHERE do I go to get a Mammogram and an Ultrasound? Regular hospitals and clinics want me to have a referral form one of their doctors. But I do not have a doctor with them, let alone a regular doctor. So the regular hospital and clinic route is out.

I am under 35 years of age. So far, I have spent hundreds of hours searching the internet and countless hours on the phone trying to get some sort of useful information on even just WHERE to go to get a Mammogram and an Ultrasound. I was searching for low-cost and no-cost options, but I can't find a place to perform the tests no matter what the cost is.

Every number is a dead end. Each web address is less useful than the one before it. Is this REALLY that difficult to do?

Seriously. I am at my wits end, and I am no closer to getting this taken care of than I was before this all started. It is the end of the day for the places I can contact, though I have currently run out of options and leads. It just feels like yet another day WASTED.

So...

Today:

I spoke to the San Francisco Affiliation Offices for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I was given three names and numbers. They are:

Breast Health and Screening Program
May View Community Health Center
(650) 327-1223

Community Breast Health Project
the Gabriella Patser Project
(650) 326-6683- This is a WRONG NUMBER.

Community Health Partnership
Community Mammography Access Project
(408)556-6605

The Breast Health and Screening Program/ May View Community Health Center asked if I wanted Palo Alto or Mountain View. I selected Mountain View and was transfered before I could hardly explain what it was that I needed. The Mountain View connection allowed me to explain what is was I needed; a Mammogram and an Ultrasound, and then said that they were just a small clinic that did not do those things. They said that I needed to call the San Jose Hospital. Which I did. The number is: (408)885-5000.

San Jose Hospital rang me through to an automated service, which I bypassed most of by speaking the word "OPERATOR" into the phone loudly and clearly. I was transfered to the Operator. I explained what I was looking for and was transfered to the Radiology Department. I explained to the woman answering the Department line that I was looking for a Mammogram and an Ultrasound. She asked for the Regular Doctor's referral. I explained that I had started at Planned Parenthood, was referred to Susan G. Komen, who referred me to the SF Affiliate Offices for Susan G. Komen, who referred me to the Breast Health Screening Program and the May View Community Health Center, who referred me to the Mountain View Clinic, who referred me to the San Jose Hospital and that the operator had transfered me to her Department; the Department of Radiology. I was put on hold. And then I had dead air. (Yeah... It's like some horrible Comedy of Errors, only this is really not funny...)

I called the number I was given for the Community Breast Health Project/ the Gabriella Patser Project: (650) 326-6683- This is a WRONG NUMBER. A very nice woman said hello and said I had the wrong number. She sounded as if this was not a surprise mis-dial. Bummer. I tried to look up the Gabriella Patser Project on-line, but all I found was for a program for 2006. Another Bummer.

I called the Community Health Partnership/ Community Mammography Access Project at: (408)556-6605. I reached an automated answering message that gave me the business hours of 9-5PM. I called at 2:30PM. It gave an option to leave a message, but then disconnected. I was unable to leave a message.