# "How to prepare for a mamogram" Have it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 3, 1999, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757 "1999-11-03T19:42:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/1 "1999-11-03T19:42:00Z")
I’m sure you’ve all read the humorous thing, passed around in email… well I need it and I can’t find it to save my freakin life. So please, I’m begging you, post it here if you have it? * * * – O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/2 "1999-11-03T20:07:00Z")
Opal, is this what you mean? [http://www.lyghtforce.com/HomeoList/00000015.htm](http://www.lyghtforce.com/HomeoList/00000015.htm) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/3 "1999-11-03T21:56:00Z")
Yes! Thank you ::::covers with smooches:::: * * * – O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/4 "1999-11-03T22:00:00Z")
You’re welcome. It’s a little exaggerated, but only a little. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![CatInHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@CatInHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatInHat)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 1999, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/5 "1999-11-03T23:17:00Z")
Opal, are you having a mammogram? Is it just routine/baseline, or is there cause for alarm? … not that it’s any of my business, or anything. Please don’t answer if you don’t feel comfortable answering. ---
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 1999, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/6 "1999-11-06T13:12:00Z")
I hate to go all serious here, but I checked out that site and didn’t find it funny. I do have a sense of humor, but I don’t like anything that discourages women from something that could save their lives. I have a mammogram every year, and only once did I consider it painful and that was when I had one a few days before my period and my breasts were already sore. They should’ve warned me about that. Frankly, I’d rather hae a mammogram than a pelvic exam, but they’re both necessary, and we are dealing with professionals here who, if they know what they’re doing, make it as painless and quick as possible. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 1999, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/7 "1999-11-07T01:44:00Z")
No, I’m not having a mamogram (I think they start doing them regularly when you’re 30… so I have a couple more years)… I’ve just been looking for that for a few months, and my mom mentioned mammograms and it reminded me. I don’t think it discourages women from having mammograms though! * * * – O p a l C a t [www.opalcat.com](http://www.opalcat.com) ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 1999, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/8 "1999-11-07T01:58:00Z")
I once asked a woman to demonstrate for me just how much she got squeezed during a mammogram. She had me lay my hand flat on a desk, and then she pressed down on it with just about as much force as she could generate. I wouldn’t want anything of mine pressed that hard. Do they really squeeze that hard? I wonder if the mammogram machine has ever been rated in foot pounds? My hat’s off to y’all, ladies. One last query…is it true that the one word women least like to hear while in the doctor’s office is “scoot?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sycorax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Sycorax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sycorax)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 1999, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/9 "1999-11-07T14:05:00Z")
Rysdad - re the word “scoot” - well, yes, we don’t like to hear it, but we know it’s coming and some of us don’t need to be told; a momentarily embarassing position to be in, but I keep in mind that this is just a job to the doc, and the peace of mind is worth the brief discomfort. Hey, you guys have your moments, right? Turn your head and cough, get on your knees…I had an ex-boyfriend tell me that the first time the doc went to check his prostate, he scooted across the exam table and said “no way!” I said, oh for God’s sake, the shit women have to go thru and you can’t take a finger up the a–? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 1999, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/10 "1999-11-08T06:58:00Z")
1. Mammography recommendations FOR SCREENING: 35-40 - once to establish a baseline 40-50 - every 1-2 years (different groups have different rec’s) 50-75 - every year 75+ - most groups still advise every year. 2. If you are pre-menopausal, schedule the mammogram to be done the week AFTER your period. It’s more sensitive and less uncomfortable at that time. 3. I’ve had one done. Actually 1 1/2, because I had to go back & get more views done of one breast, but I would really put this into the uncomfortable range. The compression is firm, but not painful, and lasts about 15-30 seconds. Really. 4. If the jokes circulating about mammograms raise awareness & foster conversation so that women can actually hear about how they are done, they are helpful. If they keep anyone from getting this done, they have the potential to be very harmful. A joke is just a joke until it is sent. Use it thoughtfully & consider your audience… 5. I would also like to say that the women\* who perform the mammograms are among the most prefassional, caring people I know. They can laugh when a Patient asks them where the elephant is kept; they can also be comforting without crossing the line into false reassurance when mammography finds something that needs further investigation. - I say women, because at the 2 hospitals where I have worked, the mammography suite was exclusively staffed by women. I don’t know whether other centers try to hire only women for these positions. * * * Sue from El Paso [members.aol.com/majormd/index.html](http://members.aol.com/majormd/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 1999, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-prepare-for-a-mamogram-have-it/10757/11 "1999-11-09T02:51:00Z")
I had a physical today, and the doctor recommended me for a baseline mammogram. The receptionist made the appointment for me, and then said, “Now I have to ask you a question.” She put a card on the counter that said, _Do you have breast implants?_ I said, “No.” * * * Remember, I’m pulling for you; we’re all in this together. —Red Green