Today I had my long-awaited mammogram. I told the tech about soreness between my armpit and shoulder, and asked her to please, please make sure she got clear pictures of that area.
It took me a long time to get an appointment at this hospital -- since it's the local hub for corona virus treatment, they quit doing mammograms for a while in March and recently resumed -- but I wanted to come here because they have, literally, decades of my mammograms at their fingertips. It paid off today in peace of mind.
The technician knew how frightened I was and told me that, as near as she could tell, there was nothing on this year's pictures that wasn't there last year.
Now she's not a doctor. A specialist in medical imaging will review my films and make a report. She was very clear in emphasizing that. But, she said, if she saw something obvious there,* we'd be talking about the humidity or all the ways the corona virus has effected hospital protocol ... anything but this.
I am over 60 and overweight. I never had a baby. My paternal grandmother had breast cancer. I drink caffeine. None of these things are good and I must be careful. I went through this in 2009, and now I'm going through it again.
But the tech did make me feel better. So now I will try to relax as I wait for the official word and, if necessary, next steps.
*And she's been doing this almost 20 years.
These are the thoughts and observations of me — a woman of a certain age. (Oh, my, God, I'm 65!) I'm single. I'm successful enough (independent, self supporting). I live just outside Chicago, the best city in the world. I'm an aunt and a friend. I feel that voices like mine are rather underrepresented online or in print. So here I am. If my musings resonate with you, please visit my blog again sometime.
Fingers crossed! That was very kind of the tech to try to alleviate your worries.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds promising. The techs seldom make mistakes and she certainly wouldn't be reassuring if she saw something that looked out of the ordinary. Fingers crossed for you. I'm glad it went well and the tech was gentle.
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