Mammograms

Not a pretty or happy topic, but since I had mine yesterday, I need to talk about them.

I had my FIRST mammo at age 46- six years AFTER the recommendation of the AMA for people with family history of breast cancer.  Around the time I turned 43, my mother was diagnosed with a pea-sized lump of cancer and they were able to treat it with radiation after they removed it.  She was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's then as well, but that is a story for another day.  I didn't think of having a mammo myself then, although I should have.  No. That epiphany came on the subway when I ran into a friend - fellow Pinecrest Mom-Shari.  I hadn't seen her in ages.  Our kids went to Pinecrest together - again another story that will come with a rant about how SOME private schools just take your money and the teachers aren't really qualified to teach.   I asked her how she was and she said , out of the blue, that she was fine, that they had gotten the cancer early and she was responding well to treatment. HUH?   I had not seen her in a very long time.  It's funny, I used to see her every day on the subway, but hadn't in a while, so I wonder if some cosmic force sent her in my direction that day.  Bells went off in my head, "Get a mammo"  So I did.

I had heard that they were painful, but I will say uncomfortable is all they have ever been.  After the exam , I was told to wait until my "pictures" came out.   The tech came back and said that I needed to see the doctor, that they had found"something"The doctor concurred that there were THREE "somethings" and I would need a biopsy.  I felt like a car on the lube rack as the doctor took a sample from my left breast sitting in a well below the examining table.  THAT hurt, but I gritted my teeth.  He did give me Novocain, but My breasts are denser than most and it only worked partially.  I have addressed this in subsequent biopsies.

They found something enough to determine pre-cancer and scheduled surgery.  They told me if they found ANY cancer, they would remove my breast in surgery.  I swallowed hard and said ok, let's do this.  The surgery went well, the lumps were removed and they had not yer turned, so no radiation therapy was needed.  I was lucky.

I saw Shari one last time on the subway.  I told her she saved me and hugged her.  I stopped taking the subway soon after that, but I am always grateful for our encounter. I always schedule my mammo in April, and as a little remembrance joke I quote  T. S. Eliot's  "the Wasteland"  which begins "April is the cruelest month"  It reminds me to do it.  Some people have it their birthday month; making breast health a birthday gift.  Whenever you do it  DO IT.  I urge men whose mothers- or fathers- have had breast cancer and YES men DO get it, to talk to their doctor about getting the exam as well.  It's uncomfortable for me, it might be painful for you, but it's soon over and the peace of mind in knowing you are doing something to fight a disease that will KILL you if left unchecked is worth a few moments of pain, don't you think?