Mar 27 2009
My Mammogram, and the Call-Back…
In my last post, I talked about how I finally started taking steps to take care of my health by scheduling a mammogram and check-ups with my doctor and gynecologist. The mammogram was the earliest appointment, just a few weeks out. I was happy to have this set up because I have heard so many horror stories about breast cancer. When I was a teenager, I lost a dear aunt on my mom’s side due to complications from breast cancer.
I think we all understand the importance of self-exams and mammograms for early detection and treatment for breast cancer. If you would like more information on this disease, the Health for Self Newsletter has a very informative three-part series on breast cancer. Even though we’re aware of the need for breast cancer screenings, sometimes we let the fear of the disease prevent us from having the very tests that could help find it and treat it before it’s too late.
About five years ago, I did have a mammogram. During my annual exam with my gynecologist (well, in my case it wasn’t exactly annual), he found a small lump on my left breast. He sent me to have a mammogram to have it looked at further. It was a very stressful and scary time for me. Before I even went, I had to fight with my insurance company so the procedure would be covered. My mammogram was scheduled in October, Breast Cancer Awareness month. The waiting room was filled with pink ribbons and every magazine had a story about breast cancer.
After the mammogram, they had me wait while the film was reviewed by the radiologist. The lady at the desk called me up and informed me that I needed to come back for an ultrasound. I swear, I almost fell down. I tried to find out if they had found something, but she couldn’t tell me. So, I came back a week later after spending every waking hour worrying that I might have breast cancer. They did the ultrasound and I braced myself to hear the news I most dreaded. To my great relief, they told me that they found nothing. In fact, the mammogram hadn’t shown anything either. They only ordered the ultrasound because my doctor had felt a lump.
I am ashamed to say I have not been back for my “annual exam” since that episode. I think the fear of going through something like that again has subconsciously kept me from going back. After I turned 40, I knew that I had to face my fears and set up an appointment to go back. I was happy that once I finally did it, my mammogram appointment was scheduled first. This way I knew I would be less worried that the gynecologist would find anything.
So, I went to my mammogram on Monday with almost an “I’ll show him” attitude. There were no pink ribbons or sad stories in the waiting room about breast cancer. I was confident I would go and everything would be fine. I had the procedure and I thought everything WAS fine until I got the call. They wanted me come back for more views of my left breast. The breast that my doctor was concerned with five years ago.
Today I went back. Yes, I was very worried, but I kept it inside since my daughter Angel was tagging along. She’s on spring break and we planned to do some shopping after I was done. When I went into the examination room, the technician showed me on the screen why they called me back. The radiologist had circled an area that looked cloudy. She explained that it may be nothing. It could be from a skin flap or breast density. She also said it could be some benign calcifications or a cyst.
After some painful squeezing and awkward positioning, she got the views she wanted. She magnified the area on the screen and showed me some tiny grain-like dots that were calcifications. She assured me that it may not mean anything, but she would show it to the radiologist. I waited for five very long, very scary minutes for the radiologist. He finally came in the room and stood in front of me. He told me he had looked at new pictures and compared them to my old mammogram. He told me that I did have more calcifications, but they did not show any indication of signs of cancer. He said they were scattered, not grouped together or lined up in a suspicious way. He said I was fine, but I definitely should come back in one year for another mammogram.
What a relief! As Angel and I drove away from the hospital, I explained to her about my mammogram and why it is important to have screenings for early prevention and treatment. Of course, she gave me an “ew, gross” look, but I hope as she grows up she will understand why it is so important to take care of ourselves and our health.
Glad to hear the news was good news. Just be sure to follow-up in one year’s time. As scary and uncomfortable as the whole process is, breast cancer is a disease that is very treatable if detected in time. The whole scanning process is there to protect you. Ignoring it, as some women do, only leads to advanced disease when it is discovered. At this point, the disease is still treatable but the long term survival decreases. However, if the cancer is discovered early, women tend to disease free for many, many years. Glad to hear everything went well.
healthforself - Yes, I will definitely go back in a year. It’s was so foolish for me to hide me head in the sand and pretend there would be no problems if I didn’t go. It also makes me feel a lot better to know that if the screening were to find something, it would probably be in the early stages.
lilysgramma - Thanks, you are so right. It’s so much better to just do yearly and not worry about it.
I’m so glad that everything was OK. I know exactly what you mean about all the worry you go through and the fact that that puts you off going back again.
You’re right that we should attend to our health regularly, even if we feel fine. It’s much easier to treat an illness if it’s detected early than if it gets to an advanced stage.
So glad everything is OK. I had a mammogram 4 years ago after the doctor felt something. They did an ultrasound afterward, too. Waiting for those results was very worrisome. But everything was fine..thank goodness. My aunt was recently diagnosed with stage one breast cancer that was found during her yearly mammogram. While the mammogram is uncomfortable, it is definitely something to have done.
Roz - That’s so true. I guess we have to be big girls and not let our worries stop us from doing something that could save our life.
raesmom - I’m glad everything turned out good for you, too. Yes, I’m a believer now that getting those mammograms are the way to go.
I’m glad it all ended up okay. I will repeat what the others have said: please make sure you follow-up in a year’s time. You have a baseline for comparison, so any changes can be more easily spotted and identified, and early detection makes a huge difference!
For me, my gyne recommended I get a mammo at age 35, which raised the eyebrows of my doc tor hubby, because as far as he was concerned, there was no need to do that until age 40 unless the gyne actually felt something - she didn’t, she just was of the stand that a baseline should be done at age 35. Before age 40, there’s still a lot of dense fatty tissue that results in false positives, according to my hubby.
But the gyne brought it up every time I saw her, so I went ahead and got it done (see if boobs were zits) at age 36…. and joy of joys, there was a letter in the mail about a week later asking me to arrange for another round because of some abnormality in one breast.
I kept panic in check, figuring there was no use worrying about anything until it was confirmed … in the end, I got a clean bill of health. “Come back at age 40″, I was told. Yay.
I went today for my yearly mammogram. I can’t believe it was a whole year. I guess . I had a baseline done and got called back because they saw things but didn’t have anything to compare them too. The MD said I should come every 6 months - ooops.
Today I went to a more sophisticated breast diagnostic center. OUCH it didn’t hurt this badly last time and during the one shot of my right breast she took two extra pictures pulled up the previous films and said “oh, well don’t be upset if you get a call back for more films” WHAT?
I couldn’t catch my breath from holding it or the pain…
UGH I too have calcifications but she was really focused on the muscle behind the breast.