How I found a gynecologist in Mazatlan as an expat

Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by Ellen

Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by Ellen

Retired budget travel makes it necessary to have annual checkups overseas while we’re on the move, and so I needed a gynecologist checkup while we were in Mazatlan, Mexico.

This is yet another post on what it cost, and what it was like for an American expat to see a Mexican doctor. And this information will hopefully help other women who need these potentially life-saving checks.

How I found a gynecologist in Mazatlan

I joined a Facebook group for expats in Mazatlan to seek out their recommendations for a doctor. One of the recommendations was for Dr. Didilia Bejarano. She seemed like the right fit for me – especially since she spoke English. I also liked that she was a woman. (*She’s still practicing with great reviews as of April 30, 2023.)

It’s really that simple. That is how I found a gynecologist in a foreign country — by word of mouth recommendations and Facebook.

Dr. Bejarano’s office was modern, she was thoroughly professional, and one of her receptionists spoke good English. Her public Facebook page gave her excellent reviews, in addition to the original recommendation that led me her way.

Dr. Bejarano was excellent. She ran her practice out of a private clinic, so it was higher priced than going to a publicly-run facility. But, this still is affordable compared to American prices.

The appointment and the price

When we met, Dr. Bejarano told me about her background. She moved to Mazatlan after her marriage. She studied in Monterrey. Next, she gave me a long interview on my history, including my surgical breast biopsy in another part of Mexico earlier that same year. Those biopsy results were benign.

She was not shy about asking forward questions about my sex life, which I respected. (Fertility is actually her specialty.)

After she had my history and current information, she performed a breast and gynecological exam in an adjacent room to her office with an assistant present. She immediately felt scar tissue, but no abnormal lumps. She recommended a breast sonogram, and she said those results would determine if another mammogram was needed in the same calendar year as my last one just six months prior.

After the physical exams, we went back into her office. She said everything looked and felt fine. Pap test results would take about 10 days, and she said her office would email the results. She wrote a referral for a breast sonogram, so I would be able to quickly get an appointment in her clinic’s radiology department.

All of that for $46 USD, with no insurance.

I’d highly recommend Dr. Bejarano for any expat who wants a gynecologist checkup in Mazatlan by a female doctor who is fluent in English.

I then made an appointment for later that week to have my breast sonogram at ResoMaz, which is adjacent* to the Dr. Bejarano’s clinic. (*Was adjacent to her old office.) That receptionist did not know English, but I knew enough Spanish to get by. This is where an expat needing medical checkups might have a problem.

Luckily for me, when I returned two days later for my appointment, there was another ResoMaz receptionist who did speak decent English.

Breast sonogram as a follow up exam

The radiologist who performed my breast sonograms spoke enough English to communicate the basics. He saw scar tissue from by surgical biopsy and a few cysts – entirely normal for a woman my age. He saw nothing that indicated a need for an immediate mammogram, but he recommended I don’t skip my annual x-ray, due in another three or four months. He also took the time to review my mammogram and sonogram reports from Puerto Escondido, which I’d been carrying on our travels.

This is another thing to consider when you’re a retired budget traveler. If you are going to get medical care overseas, you’re going to need to carry physical copies of tests and images, or at least have them accessible in the cloud.

He had me wait a few minutes in the lobby while he prepared my final report. He must have used Google translate, because it was in perfectly clear English.

All that for $35.

And: the images were given to me to boot – something that rarely happens in the States unless you specifically ask for it.

My full recommendation!

I highly recommend this facility for any expat who wants reasonably priced radiology services with a kind and friendly staff with basic English skills.

Dr. Bejarano’s Facebook page is here. She also is responsive on Messenger – I texted with her a few times setting up the appointment.

This is another example of how inexpensive and efficient medical care can be elsewhere in the world compared to the grossly overpriced, incredibly inefficient U.S. health care system.

I had a previous mammogram in Chetumal, Mexico. Read about that here.

Also, I had a mammogram, sonogram, and surgical breast biopsy in Puerto Escondido. Read about that here.

(Note, several months later, June 2018, Ellen was diagnosed with the earliest-stage of breast cancer. Those stories, of her diagnosis and treatment overseas, are here.)