So, I'm 41, and two weeks ago I had my second mammogram. A few days later I opened mail from them expecting it to say everything is fine. But it didn't. They said there was something on the image that required further screening, and I should make an additional appointment as soon as possible. The letter said it was probably benign, but the use of any words refering to cancer is scary. And I received this letter after 5pm on a Friday. SO I spent all weekend anxious at the thought of having breast cancer. I had to wait two weeks for an appt - it was yestereday. When I arived she showed me the image and the spot they were concerned with, and it looked just like the rest of the image, so I had no clue. SHe also said its likely its just fibrous tissue that was not clear enough in the first set of images. So, we did 6 more and the doctor gave it the all clear. But the most important thing I learned is that you should let the compress your breasts until you abolsutely can't stand the discomfort. I remember the first one, she kept asking me if I was ok, and I'm like 'yeah, I'm fine, I'm so used to my body being in some pain from training and racing'. But she stopped compressing, even though I probably could have handled more. This time a different technician, asked the same question, and I told her to keep compressing, because she said the more compression, the better the image will be, and that the first one might not have been compressed enough to provide a clear image. So, my lesson is tell them to keep compressing until you really can't stand it, because the anxiety of waiting for a follow up to clear up any concerns is not worth saving a little discomfort for 15 seconds.
Just thought I'd pass this along to all of you who have yet to reach 40 and the start of receiving annual mammograms.
Cheryl
Just thought I'd pass this along to all of you who have yet to reach 40 and the start of receiving annual mammograms.
Cheryl