Thursday, September 6, 2012

I Got Smashed!

It's that time again.  Once a year, I get smashed.  If you're female and in my general age range (or older... I don't ask, it's up to you if you want to tell) I encourage you to do it also! 

I'm talking about the yearly mammogram.

My process was simple enough.  Left the house at 8:30am.  Drove to The Breast Center at Hope.  Signed it.  Sat in waiting room for about 3 minutes.  Changed into embarrassing little cape thing.   Got smushed.  Changed back into my own shirt.  Drove home.  Arrived shortly after 9:30.  Just about an hour from start to finish. 

Yes, it's a little uncomfortable.  I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't much rather be doing dozens of things other than having personal parts of my anatomy squashed in that contraption.  It's not like getting a pedicure!  But, it's once a year.  I can handle that. 

And, yes... I know there has been some controversy lately about the "risks" of mammography.  Namely, false positives leading to further testing and unnecessary procedures as well as the stress and mental anguish  this can cause a woman.  I've thought about this.  And for myself, I feel I would rather be stressed for a short time to find it was nothing than for something to be there and not know about it.

Today in celebration of completing my own mission for health, I am putting the call out:  Don't put it off!  Make the call today to schedule your own mammogram!  Next month (October) is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  What better time to get that gals checked out? 

2 comments:

  1. I'd take a mammogram over getting a tooth filled any day. Not one of my 20 years of mammograms was uncomfortable, let alone painful, not even the ones after I was treated for breast cancer in 2010. The mental anguish of a false positive? That's not even in the same ballpark as a woman who skips mammograms and turns up with stage 4 breast cancer.

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  2. Good for you! it is one of the things I need to take care of too. I haven't had any problem with them..Once I had to have a sonogram afterwards and it scared me, but it turned out fine. Great reminder!

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