Having a sister with ovarian cancer, my family practice MD no longer wants to do "well-woman" checkups on me and referred me to several OB/GYNs in the area. One was going to take up to 4 months to schedule an appointment, the other about 3 months if I was willing to see her nurse practitioner.

This kind of stuff is what brought me to my family practice MD in the first place. After all, I was way past the baby-making business and couldn't just about anyone do this? Well, I guess not.

What to do? I remember working with a gal that got her yearly checkups at Planned Parenthood (PP). She said that they were cheap and she felt OK about the exams she got there. She told me this several years ago, but the information was stowed away in the back regions of my mind, I guess.

So, after hearing of the long waits at the private Drs, I was shocked and surprised when I called PP and they could see me the very next day and at the early morning hour that I preferred.

I went today and I must say that I was VERY happy with the exam that I received. The nurse practitioner that I saw was about my age, very friendly, and willing to actually listen to my concerns. She seemed to want to spend as much time with me as I needed. Wow...this was definitely not what I was expecting. PP also does blood tests for cholesterol checks and diagnoses and treats urinary tract infections (good to know since I don't get them often but when I do, I now know where to go).

Their fee is on a sliding scale, but even so, I only spent $69 today.

Anyway, I'm very happy with their service and will recommend it, much like I do when I find that the generic brand toilet paper works just as well as the Charmin or the generic brand toothpaste satisfies just like Crest!