This post now covers what happened during my general health examination and cervical cancer test. I had these two
tests done at the same hospital (albeit in different buildings). I went to
Mirae Women’s Hospital (near Jukjeon station – Line 2) because this is where I had
my cervical cancer test done two years ago. I dropped by beforehand to arrange
a schedule but was told that there was no need for it and that I can come at any
time convenient for me (as long as it is within their opening times I think).
For the general health examination, I was advised not to eat or drink after 9 PM the night
before the exam. Following the instructions, I abstained from everything
after 9 PM (did not even take a sip of water). I arrived at the hospital before
the 9 AM opening time the next day thinking that it would not be busy but I was
surprised to see a lot of old ladies seated at the waiting area. I approached
the information desk and was handed a form to fill out. I did not even try to
hide my amazement at the length of it and how everything was in Korean. I can
read and can fill it out myself but it would have probably taken me forever to
do so. It was a good thing that a nurse came over to assist me with it. She
asked me the questions and I provided her the answer. It was all related to my
health history.
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| The building entrance of Mirae Women's Hospital for the general examination test. |
After the form was completed, the nurse instructed me to have
my blood pressure taken from the automatic blood pressure machine and to give
her the ticket showing the results. I then had my height and weight
measurements taken. Next, I was led into a room for the eye exam and hearing test.
It was fortunate that I had the eye exam done as I found out that the vision in
my right eye had deteriorated faster compared to my left eye. For the hearing
test, they instructed me to press a button when I hear a sound from the
headset. A chest x-ray followed and then a blood sample was taken.
The last part of the exam was to provide a urine sample. As
I had no food or drink since the night before and did not feel like peeing, it
took a while. I was told by the nurses to drink lots of water as I was already
able to do so after my blood was taken. If I was able to provide the urine
sample immediately, the whole process for the general examination would have
only taken 30-35 minutes. Due to the wait, it took me around 1 hour and 10
minutes to finish. The nurses handed me my medical files and told me to go to
the other building for the cervical cancer test.
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| The building entrance of Mirae Women's Hospital for the cervical cancer test. |
In the next building, I took the stairs to the second floor
and handed my files to the nurse at the information desk. I was told to sit
down and then my name was called after a few minutes. She led me to a cubicle
to explain the process of the test. The only free test supported by the
insurance is the pap smear. There are two other optional tests they can conduct
with a fee. The first is taking pictures of the cervix for 30,000 won and the
other one is examining the uterus (or something similar…I cannot remember the
exact procedure) for 70,000 won. I only opted to do the pap smear thinking that
if something came up in the results then that will be the time I would get the other
tests done.
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| The second floor; the red arrow indicates the location of the information desk. |
Similar to my cervical test two years ago, I was examined by
a male doctor. The first time I went, I was asked if it would be okay to have a
male doctor administer it. At that time, I was in a hurry so I just agreed to
it. This time there was no information. I was just called to enter a room and
saw a male doctor. If given a choice, I would prefer to have a female doctor
but I still went ahead and had it done.
After the cervical cancer test was done, I was told that the
results will be sent through the mail. I received mine two weeks later.
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