Mammograms

[Girl Friday]

Yep, just uncomfortable. Not painful. I had my first one this past year. I would think the smaller you are the more possibility for it to be painful, seems like they'd get smashed more. But yes, it must be done! And honestly, a little discomfort is worth it, it only takes about 10 minutes.

 

[Trickeration]

I'm 38 and scheduling my 3rd one in a couple of weeks. Since my mom has had colon and breast cancer, I've had them done since I was 35 and begin colonoscopys at 40. Oh joy. My experience with mammograms has been easy (I'm a small B). I just try to really relax, slouch a bit, and exhale as they "squish". It helps.

As for mammograms, don't put them off. Cancer doesn't follow any rules.

My friend Melissa's mom had breast cancer when she (Melissa) was 32. During a doctors visit a couple of years later the Dr. asked if she had been doing self exams, and she said that she had but didn't really know what she was feeling for. He decided to send her to get a mammogram even though she wasn't due for them until the next year (you start them earlier if your mom had cancer). They found cancer on that mammogram. She's since had surgery and a short round of local radiation and is now cancer free. But if she'd waited until she was 35, the cancer would have been a full year more advanced. Everyone is so glad her doctor made that decision.

A note on self exams. My mom's doctor said you should feel for "the pea in the cottage cheese". It sounds a bit odd, but every doctor I've mentioned this to said that was the best description they'd ever heard. Now I feel much more confident that I'm doing my self exams right.

I wish you all good health. Trix

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I haven't had one yet. I always wonder how squishing the daylights out of tissue could NOT harm the tissue and perhaps cause other issues in the long run. I wish they'd come up with something new. Alas, I will still go when it's time, which isn't long now as I'm 36.
Nikki

Having had a couple relatives and friends go through battles with breast cancer, I think they'd be the first to tell you that a few minutes of discomfort and "squishing the daylights" would've been far more preferable to not knowing a cancer was starting to grow until it was too late. Unfortunately, they're not here to say that now... The sooner you know, the better, the more choices you have, the better the prognosis.

 

[Lulu-in-Ny]

I had one. It sort of hurt but only because I had two large lumps (benign) already. The Mammogram was nothing compaired to the needle biopsy though.

I had one done last Spring because of a small lump. They warned me ahead of time that it would be more painful because of what we already knew was there. And painful it was. However, the biopsy was absolutely painless. Yours was bad?

 

[DancingSweetie]

My mum is an A cup and just went for one last week, she also said she couldn't believe how much it hurt when they tried to squish her boobs into the machine! I don't know how it would work for me since I have implants, though who knows whether I'll still have them at 40, or if they will have changed. Thing is, I have so little natural tissue there I don't know if there is any point me ever having a mammogram while my implants are in. I think I'd know if a lump was growing - it'd be very obvious to both see and feel.

I turned 40 last year and had my first mammogram a few months ago. I have implants, but they found a way to stretch the tissue away from the implants and squish away. It did hurt and I was afraid my implants would burst.

 

[olive bleu]

Oh dear.Well, I'm 41 and have not worked up the courage to go.I am awfully chicken about all medical procedures and only go to see my doctor once a year to get my flu shot..and i only go for that because my husband and son both have medical conditions where it puts them at risk if the entire household doesn't get one....i have managed for the most part for the past 2 years to put it to the back of my mind, untill my husband brings it up from time to time...and now this thread...it is even covered by our health care here, so i don't even have cost as an excuse...

 

[texasgirl]

So does that mean you aren't getting pap smears every year!?!?! Not to get off topic, but you should really get one every year. I had cervical cancer and if they hadn't caught it early, I wouldn't be typing this. So you definitely need to get a pap and a mammogram. Treat yourself to a manicure or something after. Neither one are that bad and they may save your life.

 

[olive bleu]

oh.. i get my pap, because that once a year that i am in there, my doctor insists on doing it then and there.Sometimes I try to say, oh i will come back...but she knows better and never lets me. I think she would wrestle me if she had to.lol

 

[Willys Gal]

What's really strange is when you run into your Doctor(a him) at the grocery store and a weird movie plays in your head...."Geeeez, he's seen my crotch, inside and out!!".

A agree with the larger booby, the less painful in regards to the mam' OO gram.

What made me uncomfortable was having a stranger grab hold of my titties and flop them on a counter like thez was dough and start kneading it. Then like a pizza crust it was squashed!!!! One at a time!! I was so glad I drank enough water and they bounced back into shape. I would not like to have seen them stay squashed for a couple of hours all dehydrated.

Please get your boobies squashed today!!! Your health is worth it!!

Wendy