$250 and No Guarantees
Recently, I was sent to see an endocrinologist in Toronto to confirm that I don't have Cushing's disease. Even though she started the appointment telling me that I don't have Cushing's, by the end of the appointment, she was looking at test results I brought with me, (the referring local specialist only sent the results from two tests, not the additional 15 that I've had done in the past year) and decided to have me do a bunch more tests related to Cushing's.
Cushing's disease is very hard to diagnose. It has to do with pinpointing high Cortisol levels as well as where the problem originates. No one test is reliable in confirming or ruling it out, although the 24 hour urine collection test is fairly reliable for determining cortisol levels. You can read more about Cushing's disease on Wikipedia.
One of the tests the endocrinologist ask for was late-night salivary cortisol test. This test is basically chewing on a cotton wad for 30-45 seconds and placing it in a sterile tube. It's important that the cotton not be touched with your hands so that the sample is not contaminated. In total, I did four of these tests.
It was stressed to us, that the sample has to be frozen, and sent back to Toronto for testing. The sample cannot reach room temperature for any prolonged period of time, and so needed to be delivered within 24 hours of coming out of the freezer.
We were told by FedEX, that to deliver it from Sudbury to Toronto overnight, that packing it in dry ice was the safest bet.
Because dry ice is considered a dangerous substance, the cost to ship it ranges from $250 to $300.
