the big squeeze
i turned the big 4-0 this summer, so it's time for a baseline look at what, exactly, my breasts are up to. hopefully, nothing at all.
as usual, dr. textbook -- who was weirdly chatty and friendly when i went for my annual check-up a few weeks ago -- wasn't super-helpful or informative about this inaugural mammogram. she gave me the requisition form and mentioned that i shouldn't worry if i was called back for additional images because that's normal.
when i got home that day, i began googling "my first mammogram" to better inform and prepare myself. to be honest, i wasn't (and am not) scared. i'd much rather have a mammogram than another ultrasound. googling is, however, always a risky undertaking -- i found plenty of "it was easy! didn't hurt at all!" stories and also inevitably stumbled upon occasional tales of pain and woe and bruises and dismay that made me a little queasy.
thankfully, the good ones outnumbered the bad, so i'm choosing to hope for the best despite the fact that i'll be having mine done at the same imaging center where i went for that horrible ultrasound early last year. if the mammogram tech is anything like ludmila, i'll not be returning… especially since all the photos i found when i did a google image search for "mammogram" featured kindly looking technicians, hand gently placed on their respective patients' backs, smiling. (see: above right.) nary a surly russian among them, so i'm hoping i'm likewise well taken-care-of in a softly lit room with fresh flowers in a pretty vase and a lady in pink scrubs who's friendly and nice.
i'll admit i'm a little nervous about just how much it might hurt, and i'm so paranoid that (per the explicit instructions) i'll forget *not* to put on deodorant in the morning that i've already packed my antiperspirant in my knapsack so it's out of arm's reach after my shower in the morning.
there's also that tiny part of my brain that's piped up with "what if" wonderings about what the results might be.
as i said, hopefully everything will go well and be fine and my breasts will be pronounced healthy and clear.
5 comments:
You are right. Everything will be just fine.
Emily had her first mammogram last month, and she had no comment afterwards, which means it was an uneventful event, and the scan found nothing to speak of.
I go to a women's imaging center, and I've never had an unfriendly tech for my mammograms. Used to be--back when the objective was to make women feel good about themselves--this place gave each woman a pink carnation afterwards. Now, they just get it done.
The squeezing part does hurt, there's no getting around that, but the object is to flatten the breast for as good a scan as possible, and that part lasts seconds.
And who knows, maybe your place gives out carnations. That's a photo op. :-)
I agree with Lou. It's uncomfortable for a few seconds, but focus on being relaxed. That helps, truly.
As for the letter/phonecall telling you after reviewing your pics, they need to put you in the Cadillac of Mamography Machines......well, as Doc said, don't panic. Mom and I both were told to return.
We were both cleared and they made two more payments on the CMM!
The centers like Lou spoke of, make you feel quite comfortable. Hopefully yours is pink too.
((((Vic))))
thanks {{{{{{{{{friends}}}}}}}}}}}. :-)
Can't offer any personal experience, but I hope it goes well!
it DID go well, thanks!
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