Yes, very true on interpreting the test. And so many do not look at trends and compare prior results to current results to see the changes that may give an indication to explore further.

We saw that with John....there was a definite shift in some of his blood work at an annual physical. We questioned it but were told the current numbers were still in a normal range. In hindsight, we should have pushed for retesting in 3 months but they were so convincing that there is nothing going on, we let it drop. Next time, I'll follow my intuition. Hope there's not a next time.

Could we have stopped or prevented what finally hit him? We'll never know. But I do know, we would have known about his problem before it became a crisis and been able to manage it better emotionally, and would not have been pressured to decide on treatment during all the confusion.