My doctor has been throwing the word "mammogram" at me for a year. I turned 40 last January and I'm at the age where yearly mammograms are now part of my life. When I went to my doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, she mentioned it again. Okay, okay. I'll get one. I have insurance now. I guess I need that piece of mind. It's not like I have a history of breast cancer anyway.
My first mammogram was on December 30. Since it was my first one ever, they call it my baseline mammogram to give them an idea of what is normal for my boobs to look like and I guess to use it as the pictures to compare my future mammograms to.
I got there at 1030 and left by 11. It was easy peasy. Let me describe the process.
I walked in and registered at the front desk. I sat in the waiting room long enough to text Jackie and let her know I was there. I was called back by a very sweet lady and unfortunately I don't remember her name. She led me into an exam room with the "mammogram machine".
I sat down and filled out some paperwork. She told me the procedure in great detail. They would take four pictures, the pictures would be reviewed that day, the results would be sent to my doctor's office, I would receive a letter within a week with my results. If I needed to come back for further testing, I would be scheduled at my convenience and then given my results that same day. It all sounded good and very reassuring.
I had some questions of my own which were answered and then we got to business. I was given a hospital shirt that obviously opened in the front. So, I had to undress my upper half (duh) and then we would be ready to go. The nurse put some stickers on my nips with these silver nubs on them. Not sure what the silver nubs were for, but I think it looked cute.
The first two pictures they took were each boob from the frontal look, one boob at a time. Pretty simple, plop your boob on the shelfy thing and then a clear plate came down and smooshed the boob. It wasn't painful, I was just stuck in place to get a clear picture.
The next two pictures were side pictures of each boob. While these pictures also did not hurt, it was awkward to get into the correct position. Lift this shoulder, grab the handle, lower your other shoulder, hold your other boob back, turn towards the machine, RELAX.
And done! Come back next year!
I am waiting to get my letter, but I am pretty confident that all is well.
If you are due for a mammogram, I would encourage you to get one. It's not that big of a deal. I did not have any pain afterwards. I just went on with my day. I stopped at Chipotle for lunch as a reward for getting it done. I went to the gym later that afternoon for a run. No biggie.
