But that’s okay. Ever since my breast cancer last year, I’ve moved from the “routine screening every few years” to “squish the ladies every six months and be prepared for an ultrasound if the radiologist deems it necessary.”
I had my first mammogram today since my surgery, chemo, and radiation. I’d had PET and CT scans at the end of February, and they came back fine, but I was a bit nervous about the mammo…after all, this is how this whole thing started, with a “routine” mammogram.
So, the tech placed and squished, placed and squished, for ten pictures. She said the radiologist may want to get a closer look with the ultrasound if she saw anything, and I was to wait while she looked at the pictures.
So, I’m in the waiting room, my dress unzipped and hanging around my hips because the gown they gave me wasn’t long enough, flipping through a magazine and rolling my eyes because some stupid couple on Who Wants to be a Millionaire didn’t know that “silver” is the element that Argentina was named for (they had to ask the audience for help, but they got it right) and having this little voice in my head saying, “What if…”
The tech comes in, says, “(ivylass), bye!” The radiologist found no cause for concern, so I’m free and clear until my next one, in six months.
My dear Dopers who have been so supportive, I urge you to get your mammograms or get the women in your life to get their mammograms. And may all your mammograms be “routine.”
It takes a few of those “It all looks good” events before the fear wears off. But it will. Lots of people stay cancer-free for life after a deal like yours. Hang in there & keep your overall stress low; many folks believe that’s a key to avoiding recurrence.
I used to date a radiologist tech and she me told that this procedure is a lot like having a hippopatamus sittin’ on your chest and rubbing its weight on top of ya repeatedly.
If that’s the case, then any woman who undergoes it deserves dinner with wine and roses.
Yay for the good news, ivylass. I just had my first one last Thursday. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. No pain. Just pressure…a lot like a very tight blood pressure cuff.
Routine screening checks for all sorts of diseases can be life savers to those who don’t procrastinate. Some call me a hypochondriac but I’ve always gotten a regular pap smear since I’ve been sexually active.
Okay, seriously though, you’ve been in my thoughts since the beginning, even if I haven’t shown up in all your threads.
Excellent!