Anyone here a mammogram survivor?

[mykpart]

First I had to put my breast upon a cold steel shelf, then stand perfectly still while another shelf lowered down until is squished my breast nearly flat, then hold my breath while the technician stood behind a shield and took my picture. Then I had to repeat on the other side. This is not funny to write about.

[roguevalley]

1. there's one that is a heat device that can find tumors because they

are warmer than normal tissue. I hope they get one here
soon. :*}

[latebloomer]

18. it's called thermography

and I could only find a practitioner in CA-- nothing on the East Coast, where I am.

[leftynyc]

2. I agree it's not a pleasant test but

it's so important you do it. I recently had a 47 year old friend (mother of 2 kids) die from breast cancer.

[radwriter0555]

3. Like to see em do the same test on a man's DICK. You can bet a dick

wouldn't get such a barbaric treatment for long, know what I mean? They'd invent something to cradle the damn thing in silk and satin.

Hell, they can put a man on the moon, yet they still gotta squish a chick's tit for a cancer check. How WRONG is that?



arggggghhhhhhh.

[Skittles]

11. IF THEY CAN PUT A MAN ON THE MOON

WHY CAN'T THEY PUT THEM ALL THERE?

[mcar]

4. I get one every year

My mammography tech first puts a heating pad on the shelf so it's warm for my breast. The breasts get squeezed but she makes sure I don't feel anything but mild discomfort.

She tells me that women should not feel pain during their mammograms and that if they do, the tech is doing it wrong.

So, I'd say have an annual mammogram but find a tech/center who knows how to do them the right way. :)

[Booberdawg]

5. LOL! There is a list i wish I could find again on things to do to prepare

yourself for a mammogram. One exercise that I recall is to place your tit inside the refrigerator or freezer door and push the door closed as hard as you can.

Another was to park your car in a garage with a cement floor (cold) and force your tit under the back tire as far as you can get it.

I agree - mammogram's are HELL! It hurts!!

[bicentennial_baby]

6. Fucking horrible

I was 24, they thought I might have cancer, but it was fibrocystic breast disease. Of course, mammograms on women my age usually are'nt clear, due to the density of breast tissue in young women, so I had to have 2 mammograms and an ultrasound before it was all over. Worst medical experience ever.

[Mandate My Ass]

7. I've heard they recently approved

or are about to approve an MRI mammogram which doesn't involve putting your breast in a vice. However, whether health insurance will pay for it or not remains to be seen. I'd hope so because it's a much more accurate look inside the breast than regular x-rays.

[Raven]

8. What's really fun is

when you have the test done and then they come back in and tell you they have to do it over again....yeoooooooow!

[MaineDem]

9. But it's all worth it

They hurt like hell!

A few years ago they saw "something" during one of my mammos. I had to go back and have it done AGAIN! Not only was I apprehensive because of the discomfort I was also nervous about what "it" was. Then I had to go back in six months.

Thankfully it was nothing but they look at it carefully each year. And it's time for my annual boob-squishing. I wonder how it'll feel after losing over 100 pounds?

[Skittles]

10. JESUS CHRIST ON A STICK

my only one was EXCRUCIATING. You don't think there's better ways to do this? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

[LuLu550]

12. you haven't felt ANYTHING

until you've had to be "compressed" for 20 minutes while they "mark" a lump for removal. I was black and blue from my neck to my waist when they did that. In the words of RoseAnn RoseAnna Danna, "I thought I was gunna DIE!"
But we must grit our teeth and do it, sisters. The consequences of not doing it are too great.
Thankfully, both times I had lumps removed they were not cancer, but others have not been as lucky.
RIP Dottie and Judy :cry:

[FloridaJudy]

13. My radiologist warms the plates

Bless her heart! Now if some other woman could figure out how to get rid of that square corner that digs a hole in your armpit while everyone's scurrying to hide behind the lead shield and chanting "now hold your breath..."

BTW, ladies: if you cut out caffeine, take Evening Primrose oil for a week, and take Ibuprofen an hour before the procedure, your breasts won't be quite as sensitive. Nothing will ever make it comfortable, but these measures can reduce the pain considerably.

[Bunny]

14. I'm not just a survivor, I'm an enjoyer!

Figure that one out!! :evilgrin:

[Fridays Child]

15. Uh...

:wtf:

[Booberdawg]

16. S&M??

:shrug:

[Bunny]

19. Well, I was just kidding.

I don't enjoy them, and I'm not into S&M! But to tell you the truth, I don't find them as bad as some others do. I've had them done by good techs and bad techs, and there really is a difference! BTW - did you ever notice how none of those techs are guys???

[Booberdawg]

22. LOL! I just couldn't imagine "enjoying" a mammogram!

They make me grimace. I have cysts though and it hurts when they get squished!

I think it would be awkward for a guy tech to do mammograms. My gawd, I mean they practically pull the skin off your back and lips stretching and stuffing as much as they can into that vise. I think a guy tech would have trouble doing that and some women would be uncomfortable with it as well. When I have ultrasounds though, it's always a male tech.

[latebloomer]

17. I don't trust them

I don't like the idea of irradiating my breasts, and I don't trust the reassurances about how safe it is. I've also heard that if there is a malignancy, it's a really bad idea to compress it that way.

I have yearly sonograms-- at first my doctor tried to talk me into the mammo, but now she doesn't even mention it. I've heard thermography is effective and safe, too, but no one in my area does it.

BTW, both my mother and a client were diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after negative mammos-- they discovered the lumps during showers. My client, whose cancer has now spread to her lungs, is currently consulting a malpractice lawyer.

[KoKo]

20. I had my last one 9/11/2001, while the WTC Attacks were going on. I've

not been back. It was the most traumatic experience I've had in a long time. I checked in for my appointment and a whole group of people are around a TV screen watching (I didn't know what). They were standing their in white coats speechless while I'm trying to tell a receptionist I'm there for my "annual."

I had to ask why everyone was watching TV....and then I saw it......the "second crash" and then an announcer said that Washington was "under seige" (at that time there were reports the White House was in jeopardy).

They took me in.....did their horrible tortuous work....and then I was sent back to watch the TV where one of the towers started to collapse....a technician then told me they "saw something" and they wanted to do it all over again.

I went back had two sides done "mashing like a pancake" and then (my memory blurs) but I think the second tower came down....and the techie came back and said I was "Okay."

To this day I think I had double dose of radiation because the Radiologist was so freaked at what was happening and I was so traumatized that I was walking around like a zombie.....doing whatever they told me.

I will never forget that day. And, I skipped my yearly because I couldn't handle the memory and was worried about the extra radiation.

They need a new test! It's like torture....Medieval! I know it saves lives....but there's gotta be something better!

[DrWeird]

21. I love mammograms.

Because the first time my mom got one they found a tumor in its really early stages.

[Lars39]

23. It helps to bring a shawl or small fleece blanket to stay warm.

I once *lucked* into a machine that needed oiling. :eyeroll: