Unfortunately for the medical community, most of us ladies just don't envision ourselves as Hollywood stars of the chest screen. To be honest, we actually dread these "routine" images as more of an elaborate form of torture. Enter a chamber dressed only in a hospital gown (remember-opening on the front), run by a tech with cold hands who manipulates a machine that is equally as cold on which you are to place delicate body parts only to have them pressed uncomfortably tight (sometimes pinching skin in these delicate areas). You are required to hold your breath for a short time and remain absolutely still, all while in the standing position.
Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? And couldn't we just do a breast self-exam? Do we really need to subject ourselves to the annual mammogram?
Well, self breast exams are a good idea, and we should be doing these monthly to ensure that there are no unusual lumps or bumps. It is recommended that women start doing breast self exams in their early twenties. A woman can then become more familiar with the structure of their own body. My parts tend to be pretty lumpy and bumpy to start with, so being familiar with one's breasts through monthly self examination is important. But according to an article posted on www.breastcancer.org, only about 20% of breast cancers are found by physical examination rather than mammography. I don't know about the average gal, but I don't know that I like those odds. Furthermore, according to www.cancer.org, a site maintained by American Cancer Society, breast cancer found during screen exams are more likely to be small and confined to the breast. Breast cancers that can be felt tend to be larger and more likely to have spread beyond the breast. Okay, those mammograms are starting to sound better. If I wind up to having a problem, I would rather find it early when it may be more treatable.
Ok, ok, I get it already, but was it really necessary to call me back to have a second set of pictures taken? According to the woman I talked to on the phone, it seemed that the images did not come out as well as they would have liked and they wanted to take another look to make sure they were not looking at a skin flap. So I set up a new appointment, but told them to make sure that the radiologist knew that I wanted confirmation that the pictures were good before I bugged out of the office. In other words, someone was going to have to talk to me before I left the office about what they saw.
So I went back and the tech in charge of the mammogram this time said that the readings were clear, but they wanted to clarify what they saw. Well, seems we have a conflict in stories. I might have scheduled the appointment a little sooner if I knew that, but no biggie, it was only a two day difference between the first appointment offered and the one I actually booked. After all the pictures were taken during my second mammogram, I was asked if could I hang around just in case they wanted still more images or an ultrasound. Sure, why not. After all, they did offer me coffee or soda while I waited. I wondered if the lady who made my appointment wrote down that I was not leaving without results. I sat chatting with another woman in the small waiting room outside the labs.
Ten minutes later, I was to get an ultrasound. Hey, now that is what I call quick turn around time. When I inquired why, the response was because I was asymmetrical. No kidding? I could have told them that! And if they needed confirmation, all they needed to do was look at my previous mammograms, should be listed on there, I remember seeing it before. (I know the previous mammograms were not 3-D, but they did look at them, right?) I got an odd look, but no answer to this. But I figured it wouldn't hurt do do an ultrasound, even if it meant I would have to take another shower when I got home to get off all the goop they use. Big plus, goop and ultrasound wand are warm.
After ultrasound, I wait another fifteen minutes until the smiling technician comes back and announces that all looks clear and I don't need another mammogram for year. I am just asymmetrical, as are many, many, many women. I smiled, thanked them for the quick response time and made my way out of the office and home to my shower. That goop sure gets everywhere!
Later I reflected on my experience and wondered if there could have been a better way to handle all this testing. I know men get breast cancer...how do they test them? I cannot see the average guy getting an annual mammogram. Heck, I have a hard time imagining a smaller breasted woman getting one. So using my trusty Google search engine, I did some research. Same two sites that I listed earlier (www.breastcancer.org and www.cancer.org) came up with the bulk of the information I was looking for.
Turns out, a man's lifetime risk for developing breast cancer is 1 in 1000 as opposed to a woman's lifetime risk of 1 in 8. Men's screening therefore is not as developed and breast cancer is often is not detected until it is more advanced. Actual testing for men relies heavily on physical examination as well as their pre-disposition to getting this type of cancer (please read more www.breastcancer.org if you want to learn more). There was a lot of information, primarily directed at women (who are at more risk) about screening and testing and signs and symptoms. My brain started to go into overload. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to look up information if you have had a finding. I am grateful to the women in my life who encouraged me to get regular exams as well as the opportunity to have my curiosity peaked to do more research on the subject at this time. Should I ever have a positive result (I learned through my research that what I experienced was called a false positive result), I feel confident about finding the resources to help me make educated decisions along side my team of doctors.
If you too have questions about breast cancer, testing, diagnosis, treatments and options, I recommend the following sites: www.breastcancer.org , www.cancer.org, www.cancer.org, www.nationalbreastcancer.org
And I recommend getting regular mammograms.
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