Monday…Blahhhh

No job news yet. 

I had to go for my annual mammogram this morning.  Icky.  “Grab hold here, lift your arm, I am going to move you around here, a little lot of pressure now”.  You just said a cotton pickin mouthful lady.  Pressure doesn’t begin to cover it.  Plus it was so darn cold in there.  The waiting room was hot and then you go into the imaging room and wow, freezing.  At least it is overwith for this year.  Hopefully.

A few years ago I went for my annual mammogram and a few days later my doctor’s office calls and tells me to call the imaging center and schedule another appointment.  They need to take some follow-up images.  And then in the same breath the person at my doctor’s office says I should make an appointment with a breast surgeon…EXCUSE ME?  I said why, she said it was standard procedure for follow-up mammogram patients.  I called and made the appointment with the imaging center then I called my husband…freaking out.  I decided to call my doctor’s office back and talk to my doctor or his assistant.  I got the assistant…she wasn’t very helpful at all.  I asked why I needed to make an appointment with a surgeon when I hadn’t had the follow-up mammogram yet.  She said that my doctor was an internist and they had no experience or knowledge of breast problems.  I asked her for a surgeon referral, she was reluctant, but finally gave me the number of someone at the local university teaching hospital here in town.  I called the office and the person I talked to said that they would require me to see their radiologist and get another mammogram.  So, I cancelled the other follow-up mammogram and made arrangements to get my photos to take to the new radiologist I would be seeing. 

I went to the appointment, luckily this all happened within a few days.  The radiologist did an ultrasound and looked at my original mammogram.  He asked me why I was there.  I told him my story.  He said he couldn’t see anything wrong.  He was surprised that the other imaging center called for a follow-up.  So he recommended I get a mammogram in six months.   Flash forward six months, had my mammogram, no problem, went for another one six months from then…still everything looks okay.  Now I am back on my annual rotation.  Scared the living crap out of me. 

So, hopefully, there won’t be any problems with my pictures this time around.  Scary, scary stuff. 

So, go get a mammogram already.  I mean it!  It could save your life.