So, I turned 40, a year and a half ago. I was due for my mammogram. Honestly, I wasn’t putting it off for any reason, I just didn’t make a yearly exam appointment. No excuses, finally, I did. I have close friends and coworkers whose boobs tried to literally kill them. (It is estimated that 43,600 women will die of breast cancer this year.) What would they think of me if I didn’t take this seriously? So, I called my primary and set up a physical which then led to scheduling a mammogram appointment.
What did I know about getting a mammogram? Really just what I have seen on TV and heard from some friends. One person jokingly asked me, “Do you have a garage with a garage door opener? Just lie there and keep hitting the button.” Lots of laughs were had, even to this day. All kidding aside I wasn’t worried about the procedure itself, I was worried about the possible results. One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.
Breast cancer doesn’t run in my family but the worry for women will always still be there.
So I woke up on a very cold February morning, put my bra on, got dressed and headed to my appointment. Just what every woman wants to do on a cold February morning with only a couple sips of coffee in her system…take her boobs out and get them smooshed.
I was in and out in less than 20 minutes! That had to have been a record. It was not comfortable but it wasn’t painful. It was a little awkward having someone “handle” my breasts, but let’s be real, they were handled all through having children. I’d give the experience a solid 7 out of 10. I would do it again for sure…every year…because it’s the healthy thing to do for myself and my family.
Mammograms save lives because they detect breast cancer early – There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. If you are due, call your doctor and schedule a mammogram. As moms, we don’t do much for ourselves, but this is something we should all undoubtedly be doing for ourselves. My scan was negative.
*facts listed in this piece were found at https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts
