It didn't hurt (OT)

I have done it- today I had my first mammogram!

And it didn't hurt. Certain bits were uncomfortable even
exceptionally so and one film (yes it would be one that was
exceptionally uncomfortabe) had to be re-taken but after it all I was
left with was a mild ache in my left shoulder for 10-20 minutes and
given that is my bad shoulder and the position I had to assume (arm
extended and bent at the elbow) is one where my shoulder protests
anyway that may be down to my shoulder rather than anything else. It
wasn't even cold and I didn't have to wear a hospital gown, which for
some reason I wasn't looking forward to (Go figure it's not like you
are in a position to make a fashion statement!) I was allowed to take
my bra off and then wear my top until I went in to have the films done
(The nurse did say I could wear "One of these "lovely" fashionable
hospital gowns" but she wouldn't recommend it). The worse thing I
worried about once I was in there was given I couldn't wear deodorant
I was worried about my armpits smelling!

I was only in there for 10 minutes.

thanks everyone for the advice

Now I have to wait 3 weeks to find out if its negative or not. One
thing that really scared me was this leaflet they gave me on risk
factors. Surprisingly unless you carry the BRCA1 gene (I don't think
I do) family history isn't that important but I had a lot of risk
factors that I can do nothing about.....Considering you go for
screening at 50, the news that having had your first child after 30 is
a risk factor is a bit late. It actually said in the leaflet that you
might want to consider having your first child earlier and I just
imagined some stroppy teenager yelling at his/her mum "Why did you
have me in the first place?!" and getting the answer "To reduce my
risk of getting breast cancer"

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

"Lesley" wrote in message
...
I have done it- today I had my first mammogram!

And it didn't hurt. Certain bits were uncomfortable even
exceptionally so and one film (yes it would be one that was
exceptionally uncomfortabe) had to be re-taken but after it all I was
left with was a mild ache in my left shoulder for 10-20 minutes and
given that is my bad shoulder and the position I had to assume (arm
extended and bent at the elbow) is one where my shoulder protests
anyway that may be down to my shoulder rather than anything else. It
wasn't even cold and I didn't have to wear a hospital gown, which for
some reason I wasn't looking forward to (Go figure it's not like you
are in a position to make a fashion statement!) I was allowed to take
my bra off and then wear my top until I went in to have the films done
(The nurse did say I could wear "One of these "lovely" fashionable
hospital gowns" but she wouldn't recommend it). The worse thing I
worried about once I was in there was given I couldn't wear deodorant
I was worried about my armpits smelling!

I was only in there for 10 minutes.

thanks everyone for the advice

Now I have to wait 3 weeks to find out if its negative or not. One
thing that really scared me was this leaflet they gave me on risk
factors. Surprisingly unless you carry the BRCA1 gene (I don't think
I do) family history isn't that important but I had a lot of risk
factors that I can do nothing about.....Considering you go for
screening at 50, the news that having had your first child after 30 is
a risk factor is a bit late. It actually said in the leaflet that you
might want to consider having your first child earlier and I just
imagined some stroppy teenager yelling at his/her mum "Why did you
have me in the first place?!" and getting the answer "To reduce my
risk of getting breast cancer"

Lesley

I'm surprised you have to wait so long for the results. Whenever I have a
mammo, someone looks at the films immediately. If the see anything
suspicious (which they do about every other time), they immediately do an
ultrasound. The person doing the ultrasound will tell me reassuringly that
it is just a cyst, but that was what I expected. I've had cysts in my
breasts off and on for nearly 60 years, so I don't worry about breast
cancer, even though both of my grandmothers had it. They both had
mastectomies and no more cancer ever. My father's mother discovered hers
when my first cyst was found. The cure rate is probably the best for any
type of cancer, assuming it is caught early.

Joy

On Jan 13, 11:53*am, "Joy" wrote:


I'm surprised you have to wait so long for the results.

They don't have a radiologist on site so the films have to be checked
off site. I am going to not think about it until I get the letter and
then I will probably be thinking "ignorance is bliss" and wondering
why I did it- especially if I get recalled although the radiographer
told me that 5% of all patients are recalled for quality control
reasons apart from anything else and yes, 9 out of 10 recalls prove
not to be cancer....

And none of the above will mean a damn thing if I do get recalled!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

Johnny Pride wrote:
"Lesley" wrote in message
...
I have done it- today I had my first mammogram!

got any photos?


Pervert!

"Lesley" wrote in message
...
I have done it- today I had my first mammogram!

got any photos?

Lesley wrote:

I have done it- today I had my first mammogram!

And it didn't hurt.

Yay! Glad it's over with. I don't think it's that bad, either.
Better than the alternative...

It actually said in the leaflet that you
might want to consider having your first child earlier and I just
imagined some stroppy teenager yelling at his/her mum "Why did you
have me in the first place?!" and getting the answer "To reduce my
risk of getting breast cancer"

LOL, which she might say even if it's not true.

I'm sorry, but it would be a very dumb reason to have a kid, if one
weren't emotionally mature or financially secure enough to do it.

I wonder what they say about the risks for women who never had kids
at all?

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

hopitus wrote:

From what I know
about risk factors, that "BRAC" 1 and 2 stuff (some gene or other) in
your makeup is the Big Bad "Eight-Ball" (play pool?) of breast ca; the

Do people just ask for a genetic test for that? Or is that only
necessary if there's a family history? As far as I know, nobody in
my family has had cancer of any kind, going back 3 generations.

Nonetheless, there's an 11% chance I can get it just for being female.
And the region I live in has an even higher percentage, I think it's
1 in 8.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

hopitus wrote:

About the BRAC test: yes, you can request it but it's a Pandora's Box
just like some test for a disease (I think Huntingdon's something-or-
other) that makes you certifiable insane later in life....bottom line:
do you *really* want to know? At least the mastectomy seems to be
something positive to stave off breast ca (which as former medical
worker I don't understand how removing the offending organ could
remove a cancer threat...this makes no sense to me

I think it's because a certain type of cancer has to begin in a certain
type of cell. Breast cancer begins in breast tissue. Whatever the mutation
is that turns a normal cell into a cancer cell happens differently in
different kinds of cells. That's why when breast cancer metastasizes,
it's still called breast cancer, because it's a mutated breast cell that's
spreading, and it's going to behave a certain way because of how it
originated.

So I guess if you removed all the breast cells from your body, there
wouldn't be any to become cancerous. At least, that's the theory. I don't
know if that actually prevents breast cancer or if it just improves your
chances of not getting it.

--
Joyce ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)

wrote:
hopitus wrote:

About the BRAC test: yes, you can request it but it's a Pandora's Box
just like some test for a disease (I think Huntingdon's something-or-
other) that makes you certifiable insane later in life....bottom line:
do you *really* want to know? At least the mastectomy seems to be
something positive to stave off breast ca (which as former medical
worker I don't understand how removing the offending organ could
remove a cancer threat...this makes no sense to me

I think it's because a certain type of cancer has to begin in a certain
type of cell. Breast cancer begins in breast tissue. Whatever the mutation
is that turns a normal cell into a cancer cell happens differently in
different kinds of cells. That's why when breast cancer metastasizes,
it's still called breast cancer, because it's a mutated breast cell that's
spreading, and it's going to behave a certain way because of how it
originated.

So I guess if you removed all the breast cells from your body, there
wouldn't be any to become cancerous. At least, that's the theory. I don't
know if that actually prevents breast cancer or if it just improves your
chances of not getting it.


Improves your chance, IIRC. (I am not a medical specialist). The problem
is that even a mastectomy doesn't get all the breast tissue, and as long
as there's some left, there's a chance of breast cancer. There's also
the question as to whether to remover the ovaries, too. And of course,
the operation is more likely to be useful if it's done early, because
there's less chance of the cancer having already started.

However, the really terrible genes only cause a small minority of breast
cancer cases, so most women won't be in the position of considering
prophylactic mastectomies.

Cheryl

On Jan 14, 1:15*am, wrote:
I wonder what they say about the risks for women who never had kids
at all?


Almost all of my friends who had breast cancer were single women who
never
had kids. Once I asked my gynecologist about this. She said it may
have something
to do with their never undergone breast changes that came with
pregnancy.

I also read that single women or women who never had kids have higher
risk
of having ovarian cancer.

Winnie

--
Joyce * ^..^

(To email me, remove the X's from my user name.)