Women getting squished for the cause ...

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pygmalion

Well-Known Member
I had my first-ever mammogram today. (The insurance company wouldn't pay, before, but now I'm old enough. :lol: )

I know it's a month-plus late (October is breast cancer awareness month in the US,) but I just want to say a little bit about the test and about the disease of breast cancer, because I know a lot of women read the posts in these forums.

I was scared to take the test, because I'd heard horror stories about the pain. I was shocked at how not painful the test is. You do get squished, but it hurt, to me, about as much as getting your ears pierced or having your annual GYN exam. Yes, it's uncomfortable, but it's not by any means excruciating. Think x-rays at the dentist's office. A mammogram is just an x-ray.

Unless you find a problem or have a family history of breast cancer, it's recommended that you get the test done as a baseline between ages 35 and 40, then once a year after age 40.

But here's the deal. This year, forty thousand American women will die of breast cancer. (Sorry to the non-Americans here. For some reason, US medical institutions don't care about world statistics. :evil: ) If you have a mammogram (and have cancer,) a lump can be found when it's the size of a grain of rice. If you do a self-examination, a lump will most likely be the size of a golf ball before you find it. :shock: I knew this before my mammogram. Just figured I'd share it now. 8)

I have a personal policy of never moralizing or guilting anyone. So I won't. But please. If you're in a high-risk group or in the right age range, schedule a test today. It's honestly not that bad. 8)
 
I've always been naturally lumpy, but suddenly I noticed things getting lumpier so I had my first-ever mammogram last month. I also heard how tormentingly painful it was but it DIDN'T HURT A BIT! I am small-breasted and the radiologist had to literally pull what little I had onto the plate for the pictures to be taken. It was over in a flash. I had the mammogram & a total GYN check which included ultrasound, all for the amazingly low price of $73(this is of course with health insurance). Ladies, breast cancer is on the rise, so have this done if you care about your health!
 
pygmalion said:
Unless you find a problem or have a family history of breast cancer, it's recommended that you get the test done as a baseline between ages 35 and 40, then once a year after age 40.
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In Britain, the NHS (National Health Service) offers mammogram to women between 50 and 70 years old (you can still ask to be screened if you are over 70), every 3 years. Since (luckily) I don't have a family history of breast cancer, it will be a while before I'm eligible for the screening programme. Doctors do recommend all adult women self-examine regularly.

pygmalion said:
This year, forty thousand American women will die of breast cancer. (Sorry to the non-Americans here. For some reason, US medical institutions don't care about world statistics. :evil: )
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In the UK, the statistics are 13,100 deaths and 40,700 new cases diagnosed each year. It is the commonest cancer in the UK after non-melanoma skin cancer. Globally, more than 1 million cases of breast cancer occur annually. Some 400,000 women died from breast cancer in year 2000, representing 1.6% of all female deaths.
(:google: rocks :wink: )

cocodrilo said:
I am small-breasted and the radiologist had to literally pull what little I had onto the plate for the pictures to be taken.
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Hmm, interesting to see how they will do mine when the time comes... :roll:
 
I was quite surprised at how expensive the procedure is, at least here. With health insurance, I paid nothing. But without health insurance, the cost varies, but it is at least several hundred dollars. My mother, who lives in a rural area, paid $300, which was 20% of the total. What does that work out to? About $1500? Yikes. Free is definitely the way to go, if you can. Of course, there are some women's health organizations that sponsor free or inexpensive screenings, especially during breast cancer awareness month. But that's hit or miss.
 
MacMoto said:
pygmalion said:
This year, forty thousand American women will die of breast cancer. (Sorry to the non-Americans here. For some reason, US medical institutions don't care about world statistics. :evil: )
Click to expand...
In the UK, the statistics are 13,100 deaths and 40,700 new cases diagnosed each year. It is the commonest cancer in the UK after non-melanoma skin cancer. Globally, more than 1 million cases of breast cancer occur annually. Some 400,000 women died from breast cancer in year 2000, representing 1.6% of all female deaths.
(:google: rocks :wink: )
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I get really tired of the "America is the only place that matters" perspective of some of these news items. :x
 
With the increasing popularity & convenience of the "western diet"(read: high in saturated fats), the incidence of breast cancer is way on the increase in Japan. I know of two ladies who have had radical mastectomies.
 
Oh yeah, and I just figured I'd mention this. Although it is very rare, men do get breast cancer. It happens.

I remember a few years back, I scheduled a breast cancer awareness seminar where I worked (that's where I saw the grain if rice versus golf ball thing.) The presenters brought these silicone fake breasts that had cancers or cists or nothing hidden in them. And the goal was to find the lumps. :shock: It was actually pretty hilarious. A room full of women, all manipulating a fake boob. But I think it helped some people get over that "Ew. I shouldn't be touching a breast!" feeling. Maybe some people think it has sexual connotations? Who knows. But bottom line is that nobody has higher stakes in my breast health than I do. 8)
 
I don't know how the subject of breast exams came up in conversation today, but one of the women in a community center class who is close to 60 years old said she had never had a breast examination! :shock:
 
Yup. My mom never had one until she was in her sixties, and that was because she got a non-cancer related infection, and her doctor required a full exam for diagnosis.

A lot of women just aren't aware of how much impact they can have on their own health and, in case of cancer, survival rates. Especially with aggressive cancers, days can count, in terms of ones ability to fight the disease and win.
 
pygmalion said:
Yup. My mom never had one until she was in her sixties, and that was because she got a non-cancer related infection, and her doctor required a full exam for diagnosis.

A lot of women just aren't aware of how much impact they can have on their own health and, in case of cancer, survival rates. Especially with aggressive cancers, days can count, in terms of ones ability to fight the disease and win.
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I agree. Simple and fairly easy things like self-breast examinations, and regular health check-ups should be done. Just need to get it into the public routine psyche. For instance, I have just recently re-started doing a little workout/stretching after waking up each morning. Takes maybe 6-20 minutes depending on how much time I have, but amazing what a difference it makes. Now if I don't do it I actually have this niggling thoughyt in the back of my mind until I do it! :oops: :D

Hmm...this post could go in the fitness forums. Oh, well. [shrug.] :)
 
Well, I'm glad it didn't hurt for you. I'm not all that big, but I'm not small either. I was gritting my teeth and counting to 10 hoping I woudn't pass out when I had it done. It wasn't the operator either, she was being very gentle. It was the machine mashing me flat :evil: I don't look forward to doing it again, but I know it's important. I would take 10 Pap tests over 1 Mammogram.
 
bjp22tango said:
Well, I'm glad it didn't hurt for you. I'm not all that big, but I'm not small either. I was gritting my teeth and counting to 10 hoping I woudn't pass out when I had it done. It wasn't the operator either, she was being very gentle. It was the machine mashing me flat :evil: I don't look forward to doing it again, but I know it's important. I would take 10 Pap tests over 1 Mammogram.
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Pole sana!
 
LOL. Can we trade? :roll: Just kidding. :wink:

Yeah. Different people do experience these things differently. I do have a fairly high tolerance for pain --I noticed that before. I guess my take-home message is to just do it, even if it does hurt. Better to be squished early than to find out late, I guess. It pretty much sucks being a woman, sometimes. :(
 
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