Get Your Mammogram Today

At first I hesitated to remind you all of the importance of annual breast examinations on this forum ... afterall there are also MEN lurking among us!!  But what better place to remind you all???   Afterall, men usually have women in their lives ... mothers, sisters, girlfriends, friends.  And by way of this announcement, I feel that men can play an important role in reminding the significant women in their lives of the importance of this exam.

When I was 30, I had what they call, a zero (or baseline) mammograraphy, an xray procedure used to detect various conditions of the breast before one can "feel" the changes.  This is the FIRST mammogram (xray picture), the one used to compare to future exams.

The next exam I took several years later, proved almost identical to the zero mammogram and needless to say, I was quite happy that I hadn't ... aged, so to speak!!!  There were NO changes whatsoever!!!

I am glad, though, that I at least had a mammogram from which to compare.

Folks, we are all made different, including our glands, which go through changes during the month.

I recently detected an intruder of a suspicious nature.  While it DID scare me somewhat, I was not totally freaking out over it because I'd made sure I had done my monthly self exams.  You could say, I KNOW my glands rather intimately!!

I waited a short period of time to see what changes would occur during my normal cycle of hormonal changes.  When the lump did not go away, I simply made a fRaNtIc call to my radiologist for an emergency appointment for that same day.

But ... seriously folks, make sure you go out of your way to examine yourselves monthly and make that annual appointment with your doctor to rule out the possibility of any serious problems.  It's worth the little bit of embarassment or discomfort you may experience with the exams.  And... it sure beats the alternative of chemo, radiation or surgery.

Breast cancer, if caught early on, is fully treatable and recoverable.

For your inquiring minds, the lump I had recently discovered was N-O-T-H-I-N-G!!!  Everything will be fine, just fine, although I was diagnosed with "Fibrocystic Breasts" at that time. This diagnosis basically translates to cysts in the breast, or another term is "lumpy breasts" -- and no, they don't look lumpy! But -- as a precaution, I'm especially conscious nowadays to beware of how those cysts feel and to beware of what feels like a cyst and what feels like a gland. Since I am no expert, again, I do not fail to have my yearly exam to catch what I might not ...

I now keep an over the shower head reminder with the mammogrphy guidelines printed on the opposite side (The other side tells you how to ... examine your breasts in the shower.)

"Screening Mammography tries to detect unsuspected disease in healthy women.  Early detection of breast cancer has shown to save lives.  The American Cancer Society and American College of Radiology recommends the following guidelines"

Age 20-34 Monthly breast self-exam

Age 35-39 Monthly breast self-exam Baseline Mammogram (the first one, to be used to compare future xrays)

Age 40-49 Monthly breast self-exam Annual physical exam of the breasts Mammogram every 2 years

Age 50 & over Monthly breast self-exam Annual physical exam of the breasts Annual mammogram.

A good time to schedule for it is NOT during hormonal changes, i.e., just before or during your period.  Try about a week after, when things begin to settle down hormonally.

Incidentally, men are supposed to examine their breasts as well as their testicles.  So women, remind the significant men in your lives to get their annual exams too. In fact, send them to this link for instructions on How to Do a Testicular Exam

On the lighter side ... humor helps: Preparing for your Mammogram (humor)