First Mammogram...Don't Sweat It

I've been sharing with my friend Christina over the last few days, what to expect from that first mammogram.  Quite understandably she is nervous about the experience as I believe most women are the first time they have this done.  It is a procedure we have all heard about and we know that it requires a machine with plexiglass covers to squeeze our breasts to the shape of pancakes.  Fear of the unknown is something we all experience in various forms throughout our lives. Aside from the nerves about how this is going to feel, there is also the anxiety around the fact that there is a possibility that something might be discovered during the mammogram.  That perhaps there is cancer lurking in our bodies.  It is the "thinking" about this and the projecting ahead that causes the anxiety and we can create more fear in our minds than the actual event is worth.  That said, the feelings, the anxiety and the worry are all very real and not to be dismissed.

Having a mammogram and how it feels to each woman's body is as individual as we are.  We've all heard "horror" stories from women who have given birth and the pain and agony they describe to those who are newly pregnant would make any woman already pregnant wish there was some way to turn back the clock!  The women who feel such pain are best to keep that to themselves always remembering that we each have a different threshold for pain.

My view of life and experiences that might be less than "enjoyable" comes down to how I choose to think about them.  If I think it will painful no doubt it will be.  If I choose the word "uncomfortable", that makes me know it's bearable and I can tackle it...whatever "it" is.  How we choose to think about things can make all the difference in any experience.

I'm partial to visualization.  I like to let my mind wander to something pleasant, something that makes me feel good and while undergoing something like a mammogram I let my mind go to that place.  We are told to hold our breath while the image is being taken and while doing that, true enough, my eyes are squeezed as tightly as my breast but I float in my mind and I know that this discomfort is only going to last a few seconds.  And that I only have to do it four times -- 2 shots of each breast.  There is always going to be someone who says, "discomfort?  It was pain, I tell you, what were you thinking??  You call that discomfort?" and my reply would be "yes".  There is pain and there is pain.  You can choose to suffer with it or you can choose to work through it and with it. And if laughter is your way to cope, think about a man having his manhood squeezed between those plexiglass sheets while you are in there.

Tips to help you through:

1.  Do not wear deodorant to your mammogram.  The deodorant will cloud the image and the technician will ask you to remove it before entering the room.  Save yourself the trouble and don't put any on before you go.  Bring some with you so that you can apply it before you leave.

2.  Once the films have been taken, the technician will ask you to sit in a waiting area while the radiologist reads the films.  The technician may come back and ask you to return for a few more shots.  Do Not Panic.  Please.  This does not necessarily mean that they have detected a problem.  It may be that the pictures were unclear and the radiologist would like a better or a different view.  This can happen to women whose breasts are very dense.

3.  If there is a problem with your mammogram as easy as it is for me to say don't panic, remember this:  80% of lumps are actually benign cysts. 

At the end of the day there are many other procedures and tests that are more invasive and uncomfortable than a mammogram.  I know.  I've had quite a few.  This is one that takes only minutes of your time, might or might not bring tears to your eyes but those tears will dry quickly and isn't it better to have done this and lived to see many more days to have tears of joy?

*please read the comments that are being left.  They are amazing.  And the one from Chocolate Covered Daydreams brings into this another valuable insight.