# Ladies, you think I was kidding about the mammograms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064 "2008-03-28T16:48:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/61 "2008-04-08T20:49:04Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] Okey-dokey. Here’s my only problem with getting a mammogram (well, several related problems): 1. I have no medical insurance, so all costs will be out of pocket 2. I am unemployed, and thus seriously short of funds. 3. If they did find something, how the fuck am I supposed to pay for it? So, um, sure, I’ll just skip the rent for a month or three and give up eating… Og knows, I hate making these sorts of decisions but while I _might_ develop some condition in the future I _have to_ eat and pay rent NOW, no hypothetical about it. (Greastest health system in the world my sweet @$$!) [/QUOTE] Here is the exact quote I found when I dug into the ACS website: > [@](#): > > Breast cancer screening is now more available to medically underserved women through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). This program provides breast and cervical cancer early detection testing to women without health insurance for free or at very low cost. Although the program is administered within each state, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide matching funds and support to each state program. Each state’s Department of Health has information on how to contact the nearest program. > > The program is only designed to provide screening. But if a cancer is discovered, it will cover further diagnostic testing and a surgical consultation. To learn more about this program, please contact the CDC at 1-800-CDC INFO (1-800-232-4636) or on the Internet at [National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program | NBCCEDP | CDC](http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp). My gyn’s office has in-house mammography now! I just went in for my well-woman checkup last Friday and they were able to do my mammogram at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/62 "2008-04-08T21:10:56Z")
[QUOTE=lisacurl] My gyn’s office has in-house mammography now! I just went in for my well-woman checkup last Friday and they were able to do my mammogram at the same time. [/QUOTE] Man, I wish mine did. They’re all part of the same “clinic” but the breast-health stuff is in one place, the gyn is in another, pediatrics is someplace else, etc. They’re scattered all over town, and you have to call each department separately to make appointments. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/63 "2008-04-09T17:20:04Z")
The procedure is scheduled for April 24th at 12:30p. I’ll let you know how it goes! ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/64 "2008-04-09T18:22:32Z")
Mammograms? Is that how they deliver messages these days? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/65 "2008-04-09T18:29:41Z")
[QUOTE=JThunder] Mammograms? Is that how they deliver messages these days? [/QUOTE] Yes, but it costs extra. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/66 "2008-04-09T18:32:13Z")
So this might be the time and place to pass on my sister’s story. Last June, she was up to her eyeballs in stuff to take care of - early retirement, moving out of a town where they had lived for 15 years, buying a new place in the big city, looking out for her mother-in-law’s health. It was time for her annual mammogram. There was a strong temptation to blow it off with all the other stuff going on, but she thought ‘Well, this might be the last one with this doctor, so I might as well go.’ They found a lump, did a biopsy, found it was malignant, did chemo, did radio, did the surgery, did the follow-up radio, all is now clear. It’s clear because they caught it good and early, and if she’d skipped that mammogram and put it off a year, I probably wouldn’t be passing this story along with quite the same optimism. It’s not a perfect test, but I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/67 "2008-04-09T20:48:16Z")
{{hug}} Hopefully you can keep your mind off it all until the 24th. I’m sure it will all be fine. I have a very good friend who is just wrapping up radiation after a very long ordeal that started with being diagnosed last summer. She’s 28. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/68 "2008-04-09T21:12:21Z")
I’ll be thinking of you, **ivylass**. Been there, so sending empathy along with general good vibes. ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/69 "2008-04-10T05:20:10Z")
**ivylass** , I’m sending good thoughts your way. **Broomstick** , check out your county health department, or, has been mentioned, the Cancer Society for low-cost/free mammograms. Two things I’d like to mention: First, breast cancer runs in my family (my grandmother had a radical mastectomy in the early '60s), so I try to have a mammogram at least every few years. I’m _very_ grateful that the techs at these facilities have _warm_ hands. Second, I used to work for a medical billing company that billed for radiologists. We were at first amused, then amazed at the number of men who got mammograms. We wondered: how did they squish those babies? Not a bad idea for some of the male population, though. Love to all, Phil ---
**Author:** ![Ceejaytee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ceejaytee/32/2956_2.png) [@Ceejaytee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ceejaytee)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/70 "2008-04-10T19:22:04Z")
I’ve got my mammo appointment Monday. My younger sister had a double mastectomy last year, and the cancer metastasized to a small spot on her spine, which was taken care of with radiation. She just had a hysterectomy to reduce the chances of getting ovarian and uterine cancer; hey, she wasn’t using that stuff anymore anyway. 😉 My mom had breast cancer twice, and died of related respiratory problems last August. My little sister had a lump, which was biopsied last month and turned out to be a sebaceous cyst. She’s positive for BRCA 2, so she had her ovaries removed last month to decrease her estrogen levels. I’m negative for both BRCA mutations, but, with my family history, I don’t fool around. So far, everything’s been just fine. I see a breast cancer specialist once a year just in case. I hope all goes well with you **ivylass**. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/71 "2008-04-10T21:35:58Z")
This thread is bumming me out. I thought they were developing new equipment that didn’t require squashing breasts to pancake shape, and I’ve been waiting for that. Anybody happen to have any news on that front? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/72 "2008-04-10T23:14:52Z")
The technology is coming (see the link in my OP) but we’re not there yet. In any case, you should not let a little icky booby squshing stop you from this necessary screening. Oh, found out yesterday my testosterone level is high. I guess my body is starting to think about shutting down the uterine factory. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/73 "2008-04-10T23:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire] This thread is bumming me out. I thought they were developing new equipment that didn’t require squashing breasts to pancake shape, and I’ve been waiting for that. Anybody happen to have any news on that front? [/QUOTE] I know that they supplement with ultrasounds. And that MRIs are supposed to be very accurate - IF someone learns to read them - but too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/74 "2008-04-11T00:16:45Z")
The newer machinery isn’t nearly as uncomfortable as the older stuff. Either that or my boobs are becoming inured. Got my all clear this week. I’m good for another year. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/75 "2008-04-24T20:35:32Z")
Hi, guys. I had the procedure today, and I wanted to give everyone who’s interested an update. The nurse, bless her heart, was very tired, and kept zoning out while she gave me the pre-op instructions…it was like she was reciting from a script, and kept forgetting what she was supposed to tell me. I also found out I have a follow up for next Thursday, and that they were going to do not one but two biopsies. I did joke that she was making me nervous because she was so obviously exhausted, but except for some cold hands, she was great. She explained the procedure, gave me a blanket, took my blood pressure and temperature, then took me in the room, and had me position myself on the table with the hole cut out in the middle. It was not the most comfortable position, considering that I couldn’t move and that she couldn’t give me a pillow…it would prop me up too much. So my neck started to ache after a while. First, there was compression films taken, to make sure that they could find exactly where the lesions were. Then, my skin was cleaned, a numbing agent was put on my skin, and then the internal anesthesia was injected. That stung a bit, and he had to inject me three times because I kept feeling the sting while he was doing the probe. I still felt the sting after the third injection, but I decided to clench my fists and deal with it…it wasn’t that bad, but it was bad enough. They injected a clip so in case they had to go back in they would know exactly where to go. Even though he warned me, the big CLICK sound made me jump, and I was afraid I had moved too much, but the doctor said it was fine. Lots of whirring noises, tugs on my breast, and then they were done with number 1. There was a lot of chitchat between the nurse and the doctor over the exact location of number 2, and I admit, I did move my head because, dammit, my neck was aching something awful. I was told I had to lay still, so I put my head back where it was. $10 says that table was designed by a man. Number 2 wasn’t as bad. I don’t know if he gave me three injections of the anesthesia right off the bat (I think he did) but another big CLICK (I didn’t jump as much) more whirring, and it was done. Steri strips, some compression bandages and tape, a couple of ice packs, a final blood pressure check, and an admonition to wear the sports bra until Saturday morning, and that was it. They send the samples off to be “prepared,” then they come back to the pathology lab and I’ll get the results next week. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/76 "2008-04-25T01:15:48Z")
Just wanted to contribute my heartfelt wishes for a big BENIGN all over your all y’all’s bodacious boobsters. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/77 "2008-04-25T02:47:37Z")
I had my all-clear already this year, but what a wonderful thread for the Dope Girls. Self-exams seem to be SO much more important than just about anything else. Of the half a dozen women I know who have had breast cancer, all of their lumps were found during self exams, not mammograms. I have seen ads for something called Boob Lube that helps you slide around the girls when you self-examine, but soap and water will do just fine! Get used to how they feel at different times during the month, especially during your cycle and opposite your cycle. You are much more likely to save your own life. 🆒 And here’s sending good news vibes your way, **Ivylass**! ETA- ladies, PLEASE don’t be afraid of a mammogram. I had NO pain at all, and it was more disconcerting than uncomfortable. I remember looking down and seeing my boob as flat as a pancake through the clear glass plate, and saying to the technician, “That’s gonna fluff back up, right?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/78 "2008-04-25T03:06:22Z")
Please keep us informed, **ivylass**. We love you and your boobies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/79 "2008-04-25T14:19:48Z")
Oh, I forgot…the nurse had me write THIS ONE on the correct breast. It was funny she would have me do it, since I was only getting a local, but I guess just in case I was too afraid to speak up if they started cutting into Rightie instead of Leftie. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064/80 "2008-04-25T15:23:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cheez\_Whia] Well, if you want to get even, and the timing works for you, my BD is Sept. 20. 🆒 [/QUOTE] Well, I’ll try to mark the occasion in some way. I just had a baby 2 1/2 months ago, so I’m not due for more girly-bits inspections for a while. How 'bout you tell me your name, and I’ll scream it instead of “oh god”? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-you-think-i-was-kidding-about-the-mammograms/443064.md?page=5)