I called my doctor, who worked me in immediately. She took a look and said "It's probably nothing to worry about, but I'm sending you to an imaging center for a mammogram."
Now, here we are facing one of my fears. My mother, who is 83, is a 10 year breast cancer survivor. I have never had a mammogram because I am afraid of what they might find. Time to face that fear head-on.
I drove to the imaging center with the thought "Better to know for sure than to not know at all" burned into my head.
I walked in, and the nurse said "I hope you have time, because we're going to keep you here until we can definitively tell you "Don't worry, it's nothing", or "These are your next steps"".
I had a mammogram. And then, I had two more, because the radiologist needed a better view. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, and the technician was very efficient.
Then, I had an ultrasound.
And then, I was fortunate enough to hear those magic words "It's just a cyst."
I still have another visit ahead of me, but the very scary "C" word has been taken off of the table.
If you are reading this and haven't had a mammogram and are over the age of 40, ask yourself why.
Yes, the process is uncomfortable. It does more than pinch. But, the technicians are kind, professional, and explain everything they are doing. When I went back in for the second round of pictures, the tech showed me the images, and explained what she was looking for, along with the words "it's nothing to worry about yet. We need a better image, that's it."
The radiologist explained to me that he really needs a baseline reading, so he can compare future images to past images. It will make it easier to detect changes in the future... Minor changes that can catch a cancer while it is still small and treatable.
Not how I was planning on spending my day, but in so glad I finally did it. I feel like I've finally grown up.
Have you had a mammogram this year?
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