There are 3 days women universally dread: the day we realize some assnut stopped manufacturing our favourite jeans, the day of our pap smear and the day of our mammogram. In that exact order: jeans, pap, mammo. Join me for the fun filled experience of my 2023 mammogram.
GETTING A MAMMOGRAM EVERY 2 YEARS IS FANTASTIC!
Even though I dread it, getting checked every 2 years is genuinely a fantastic relief. Why?
If you get a mammogram every 2 years they can catch cancer early enough that it's completely treatable. THAT'S REASON ENOUGH TO GET ONE.
Do you know anyone with terminal cancer? Imagine if they could have taken a 10 minute test to prevent it. And chose not to.
That's what you're doing when you choose to skip a mammogram.
I have something to tell you. I think now's a good time for you to book your next or first mammogram.
MY LAST MAMMOGRAM was an emergency mammogram 3 years ago which is a year longer than it should have been. But Covid.
I went to The Breast Assessment centre, a subsidiary of Hamilton Health Sciences in Hamilton, Ontario. It's beautiful with a calming Zen type design to it so your boobs are immediately tricked into thinking they're getting a hot stone treatment.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
Upon entering the facility no one pointed to, commented on or made notice of my breasts in any way. In fact they probably got more attention on my last trip to the grocery store.
Now allow me to introduce you to Christine. Or maybe her name was Christina. It was one or the other. Now that I've given it more thought, this might be Gertrude and her friend Christine might be in another room.
Either way, she is a state of the art boob biting machine and the pride and joy of her operator whose name I have forgotten.
Does Getting a Mammogram Hurt?
- 66% do not find it painful. Which is the majority of women.
- Around 33% of women say a mammogram is very painful.
- Did I find it painful? Nope.
- If you have big boobs it will hurt less because you have fat cushioning them.
- A lot of the pain factor depends on your technologist and how heavy handed they are with the squishing part.
- If you go during your period it will likely hurt more because your breasts are more sensitive at that time. If that's the case you can reschedule your appointment.
- If you are nervous and tense it will hurt more because the chest muscles laying under your boob will be tensed up.
So loosen up.
Yup. Loosened right up for the exciting moment. 4 photos later I was dressed and walking out the door.
2 weeks after that I got a letter in the mail declaring me to be A-Okay.
The last time I posted my reminder for everyone to get a mammogram, three Art of Doing Stuff readers contacted me months later to let me know they went. All 3 had been diagnosed with early breast cancer.
And if you're feeling so bold, send me a photo of you getting it done. I'll make a mammural and post it every year during October, breast cancer awareness month.
Jennifer Taylor
Oh, Dear Lord, I'm supposed to schedule one soon. I'll try to remember to send a photo to you to commemorate the boob squish experience.
Karen
I'll be waiting for it! ~ karen
Celia
I started at 35 because of family history. So far, so good. I even did all my preventative visits during covid. I get a check from my life insurance company for one preventative procedure I get, so while I'm standing there getting squished, I think of what I will do with the extra sixty bux.
A medical student friend of mine once said, "The number one criterion for someone to get breast cancer is to have breasts." GO, GET IT DONE!
Jo
I would have happily sent a photo, but mine was done a week before this post showed up!
I find it a bit uncomfortable, but not painful.
Renee
I say that the discomfort is better than the alternative. I changed locations a few years ago, and the new place is much better - less hurt. I go every year for my own peace of mind.
Ann
Every 2 years. You’re lucky. I have to go twice a year and usually end up with an ultrasound on top of it. Nothing like being covered in goo after the squishing.😀
Kasia
I get them every six months, as my mother died of breast cancer at age 52. I’ve had a couple biopsies over the years but so far so good. However, I find them super painful, they say because I have very dense breast tissue. With that said, it’s quick, and the memory of pain fades. Do it for your loved ones!
Karen
Age 52. How awful for you. You would have been too young to lose your mother. ~ karen!
Chris
I would also recommend feeling your boobies on the regular. I’m in my early 40s. Had a mammogram that was all good then about 7 months later I felt a lump that turned out to be cancer. Did chemo, radiation, and a lumpectomy. It’s pretty easy to just feel around while you’re in the shower and it could make a difference.
TexasKat
I had mine this year. Painless. My then 14 yo daughter once asked me what it was like. I told her to go over to the door, put one of her boobs inside between the door and the door facing, and slam the door as hard as she can. lol. She gave me a look in horror and I said, "just kidding." I had to tease her.
bet
My mum had a radical mastectomy. So I began regular mammos in my late 40s. In my 60's I had a regular mammo which showed cancer & I had a scheduled biopsy. During the stereotactic breast biopsy a titanium marker was implanted. So now when i go for a mammo they can see exactly where my early stage cancer was. I have been cancer free for many years now. My niece in her late 40s was just diagnosed with early breast cancer picked up in a mammo.I have a friend in her 70s who just had a radical mastetomy. Get your mammos.
Joan
I wish Canada would do what the US does- mammograms EVERY YEAR. It could make a huge difference and catch some cancers earlier.
Gary
My wife tells me it's painfull for her. I ask her to please get it done anyway, it might save her life. But then... I have a vested interested in her boobs.
Patti_is_knittinginflashes
I was a day early. Just had my annual mammogram yesterday. Some discomfort but nothing horrible.
Years ago when I was still working, one of the office supply reps told me she was scared to have her first mammogram. She heard they were painful. I told her it wasn’t comfortable and that if it hurt, the tech was doing it wrong. After it was over, she said it wasn’t as bad as she expected. But they found a lump. Cancer. She had surgery and chemo and is doing fine.
Jody
I would much better get a mammogram than my teeth cleaned. I go every 2 years without fail. Just get it done! Please.
Hollyanne R
I like many others have always hated visiting the BooB Biting Machine. So much so, I put it on the bottom of my "to do" list last November 2022. Lots going on during that time of year right?
I finally got in for the Mammogram by March 2023. I have been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, and am undergoing Chemo to shrink the tumor before surgery and radiation.
Don't put this thing off! Having breast cancer was so far off my radar, it was just not something I ever worried about.
Thankfully my boob is behaving and responding well, and there is not doubt in my mind I will be "cured". (attitude is everything)
While this is just a major speed bump in the road of my life, it could have been a life threatening accident had I chose to ignore other peoples advice.
Get that Mammogram ladies!
Karen
Thanks for telling your story Hollyanne. Comments that come from readers like you, in this blog community, make all the difference. ~ karen!
SF
about discomfort. I can say not that bad from experience....one of the first times I went for a mammogram, the technician got distracted and left my breast squished on the machine. about 3 minutes in (I think I remember that to be the length of time), I politely asked if everything was ok. An extremely mortified technician, released me immediately. Apologizing profusely. We had a good laugh. But I did have an acquaintance that fainted from the pain..so not everyone is that lucky. Wishing all of you the best and don't procrastinate!