Why we might cancel a doctor’s appointment (and why we shouldn’t)

Some of my least-favorite calls to make are to cancel doctor appointments. Maybe it’s the Jenga-like way I have to wedge them into my life. Maybe it’s dealing with a surly office staffer. Or maybe it’s realizing — too late — that the appointment doesn’t actually work for me.

Whatever the reason, I hate those calls.

Now, thanks to the billions of dollars poured into artificial intelligence, I can skip the dread and head straight to an app. These days, many of us book, reschedule, and cancel appointments with a few taps. Still, it’s a reshuffling of my time, and I low-key hate that, too.

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Lately, my schedule has shifted in ways not entirely under my control. Starting college this winter was a big one. Suddenly, two full days a week were off the table for appointments. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I’m up at dawn, dragging myself through long, demanding days. When classes wrap, I take a short walk, pack up, and head home — where a quick nap competes with dinner prep, feeding the cats, homework, and my weekly writing deadlines, including this column.

That leaves three days to shoehorn everything else into. Easy, right?

Of course not.

In recent weeks, I’ve added yet another medical issue to the list. My daughter has an important concert coming up with her professional singing group. My partner is ecstatic about the return of baseball. (Go, Orioles!) And I’m carefully mapping out surgeries, summer plans, and small, joyful trips to see ridiculous things simply because they exist.

In other words, life is getting in the way of my plans.

Reasons we cancel appointments

So what’s a good excuse to cancel a doctor’s appointment? Sometimes, it’s just plain appointment fatigue.

As my health has improved, I don’t have nearly as many appointments as I once did. I’m grateful for that. Still, if I don’t see my liver specialist at least twice a year, I start to worry. I usually keep that schedule, sometimes going more often, depending on where my journey with fatty liver disease takes me.

This year, my first visit was supposed to fall right before spring break. Had I known the timing, I might have planned better. Instead, my body decided to intervene — just in time to force that cancellation.

Not all cancellations are logistical. Some are emotional.

One of the worst reasons to cancel a doctor’s appointment is fear. Have I done it? Absolutely.

Years ago, I was scheduled for a capsule endoscopy — a procedure where you swallow a tiny camera. At first, it sounded fascinating. As a kid, I loved the movie “Fantastic Voyage,” in which a medical team travels through a human body aboard a miniature ship. But when it came time to imagine that tiny device inside me, fascination turned to panic. Mission aborted.

Even more challenging is my agoraphobia. For enclosed MRIs, I need heavy medication to get through the scan without a full-blown panic attack. I blame it, at least in part, on long, sweaty childhood road trips, crammed into the back of a station wagon with siblings using me as a human pillow. Apparently, that memory stuck.

So now, I’m preparing to reschedule — again. This time, I’m armed with my laptop, tablet, and phone, all synced and ready to make the process as painless as possible. Technology helps.

But here’s the truth: Those appointments matter.

Your doctor isn’t just checking on your current health. They’re helping shape your future health and your long-term quality of life. And as I become more aware of my own mortality, that matters more than ever.

It’s why I’m saying yes to another knee replacement less than a year after my first. It’s why I don’t worry much about wrinkles. I’m focused on how well I can live, not just on how long or how good I’ll look doing it.

Still, for the record, I’m aiming for 100.

So, yes, I may cancel appointments. But I’m not canceling life.

And neither should you.

Note: Liver Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Liver Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to liver disease.