Do I need a mammogram? How often? Do they hurt? Is it embarrassing? Keep reading to learn about my experience, and why they are important.
This story is a bit longer than I had intended, but I think it's important for women to know they aren't alone. Medical procedures can be scary, even the minor ones.
About a decade ago I worked as a medical secretary for a small clinic in Nova Scotia.
Part of my job was making sure the doctor saw all the reports, and if there were any that were abnormal, the facility that did the testing would call to make sure we saw the report right away.
One day I was sitting at my desk and the phone rang. It was a lab that called us all the time with reports. Nothing unusual yet, right?
I answered and the lady on the other end wanted to make sure we had received an abnormal mammogram report that she had sent through. I said I hadn't seen it yet and asked for the patients name.
The next words out of her mouth were MY NAME. My stomach flipped, I got very hot but with a cold sweat, tears came in my eyes and I felt like I was going to throw up. I think time may have even stood still for a few seconds. To this day I don't know how I held my composure but I did. I thanked her and said I would pull the report right away for the doctor to see.
I had a mammogram done only a couple of days before as part of a routine checkup, I was not having any issues.
Thankfully he wasn't with a patient at the time because I went into his office like the building was on fire. All my words were coming at once, so were my tears, and I'm sure he must have thought someone had died or something tragic just happened. In my world it had.
After looking at the report he reassured me that mammograms pick up things other than cancer, and not to jump to the worst conclusion right away. Isn't that what we do though? We can drive ourselves crazy worrying about things we have zero control over.
Anyway, he called a surgeon and made an appointment for me the next day. I drove home that day in a fog. Thinking about all the worst possible outcomes. My parents, my husband, my kids, my family...what would it do to them if I got really sick? It was just a terrible drive home.
Looking back I probably shouldn't have been driving.
The next morning I was in the surgeons office, and after having a bit of time to calm down and get myself grounded again, I was ready to face whatever he was about to tell me.
He walked in the room and addressed me like we were old friends which immediately put me at ease. He reviewed the report, looked at the mammogram pictures, did a quick exam and said my dear, it's nothing. Just a cyst. I'm going to remove it to be 100 per cent sure, but I can tell you it's nothing.
Two days later I woke up in recovery, less one cyst. Easy peasy.
I was black and blue and had a really tender boob for about a week, but all was well.
Fast forward to 2021.
At 53 I had decided to go back to school for Public Relations. Life was good other than COVID is happening, but life is trucking along.
Another routine mammogram. I'm not in the medical field anymore so this time the call came on my cell. The lab where I had my mammogram done was asking me to go for another one, but with an ultrasound this time.
The wording they used was 'a suspicious mass that was a cause for some concern.' Again my world flipped, my stomach started to turn but I was able to talk myself through it this time. I'd been through this before, don't panic, but the horrible thoughts came creeping in.
Due to the pandemic the wait time was a couple of weeks. This felt like forever to me.
The day came, I had the mammogram and ultrasound done and now came the hard part again, the waiting. Patience is not a virtue I was blessed with. It took about five days, and when the call came saying they wanted to do a biopsy because they still weren't sure I could feel my insides start to spasm and twist.
I then made the mistake of googling a breast biopsy. A word of advice, don't do that!
My family doctor has the patience of a saint. I had a million questions and wanted answers to all of them. I was also terrified of the actual procedure.
I am not a pill person, but I asked my doctor to give me something for that day. I didn't care what it was, I wasn't driving and I wanted to not care what was going on around me.
Just an FYI, I break gravol in half so it doesn't knock me so hard.
He gave me two little pills and said put one under your tongue about 20 minutes before your procedure to relax you. Only take the second one if you feel you really need it.
We arrive at the hospital and I put one under my tongue. I check in, they get me in a gown and on the table where I feel terrifying things are about to happen. I don't know what I expected, maybe saws and jackhammers with a side of drill?
As I'm waiting for the doctor to come in, I told the nurse I needed to see my husband for a minute. He was in the waiting room and and I knew he had my purse with the other little magic pill in it. I didn't think the first one was working so I thought I'd better take the second one.
By the time the doctor walked in I was REALLY good. Not scared, kind of chatty and could not have cared less what he was doing. I remember a bit of a stinging from a freezing needle and some sounds like a staple gun and that's about it. ZERO pain. I do know that I have a permanent marker in my breast so they always know where the biopsy was done. Now I'm curious to know if I will set off any detectors at an airport. :)
I'm not sure what the pills were but man they worked. Home, pajamas and bed. After a solid six hours of sleep I was up and drinking tea like nothing had happened.
Ten days later, and about a week before Christmas my family doctor contacted me to say it was just tissue, nothing to worry about. Follow up in six months to make sure nothing had changed. BEST CHRISTMAS EVER.
I have since had the six month follow up mammogram and ultrasound and still all good.
I feel very blessed to have such wonder family and friends that are my strength when I need them to be, my sense of humor when I don't have one, and love me enough to kick my behind when I'm feeling sorry for myself.
I know so many women don't get to have that outcome. I am also forever grateful to the medical professionals that took care of me.
If you've never had a mammogram, get one. They aren't fun, they are uncomfortable and you have to stand at some weird angles and have your breast squeezed in ways that feel like they are molding clay with a Tupperware dish, but they shouldn't be overly painful. Everyone has a different pain tolerance, so even if it's a bit painful it's fairly quick. If you feel a lot of pain tell the technician and they can make some adjustments for you.
If you feel embarrassed, remind yourself that they do this everyday. This is their job, what they've trained for and you aren't showing them anything they haven't seen before.
I was fortunate to have two good outcomes. Both times they spotted something on a routine mammogram, if it would have been cancer the success rate would have been good because I would have caught it early.
Talk to your doctor or find a clinic that deals in women's health and take care of YOU. Ten minutes could make a lifetime of difference. Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions. Write them down as you think of them, if you're thinking it someone else has probably already asked it.
No question is a stupid one.
Do yourself a favor and don't start searching the internet for information. What you find on there will have you dead in a week from some crazy disease that nobody has ever heard of and give you more to worry about than you could ever come up with on your own.
Be kind to yourself and look after the body you were blessed with. Mammograms and pap tests can save your life.
Pap tests will be another whole topic of conversation.
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