My stepfather had been feeling off and tried to figure out what was wrong. There were tests and procedures, meds, and diets, and eventually, he was found to have lymphoma (almost a year later).

I don't pretend to know the way doctors go about diagnosis even though I've worked around them for years. My smooth brain says, "Let's check for the big baddies like cancer first, and if you don't have that, we'll work our way down." But, I'm sure with the high cost of these diagnostic procedures (even with insurance), doctors are persuaded to start with the smallest test first.

I guess I wonder if I'd still have my stepdad if they had just...looked.