For women only (seriously)

Oh BR- I am so glad you are OK! Thanks for posting this- I would freak out too!

:( I have known that feeling all to well. Twice. :(

Glad all turned out OK, BR. Mammograms are always stressful, even if they're quick because many of us tend to assume the worst. However, this past year I had to go in for extra tests (e.g., biopsy) and I was quite calm (much calmer than usual) because 3 of my friends had breast cancer in the past 3 years and all turned out well for them. The one who found the cancer earliest was the one who had the least invasive treatments. And breast cancer is now over 90% curable especially if caught early. Early detection, early detection, early detection is the mantra! Those chemo treatments stink, though.

Thanks for posting--mammograms can be a scary experience. I had a mammogram, they saw something that disturbed them, and I had to go back and get an ultrasound. And this didn't happen in the space of one day either--it was over the course of several days. I have to say I was a little anxious and it was only the knowledge that the women in my family have remarkably long and healthy lives that kept me from running the "worst case scenario" in my mind!! Everything turned out alright for me, but my little experience made me realize how precious my health is. Some other women aren't so lucky as me.

my mom has fibroids in her breasts pretty bad, so i had to start getting mammos fairly early. i have never had to have an ultrasound, but have had several "suspicious" sitings that i had to go back for. thankfully they all turned out to be nothing. glad things turned out well for you br, and for all the rest of us too !

wow...I am glad all is well!! Scary thing to go through tho!

Good to hear from you BR. That was tense. Just last year, I was sent for a second mammo but had to wait for two weeks to get in!!! I mostly stayed calm...I like to think it was the good vibes from all the brave friends I have had that have actually beat the monster.

Thanks for telling us your story. I will keep it in mind if I am camping out in the DR's office....

Yes, it is really scary, especially when you've had friends or family whom you've seen go through the pain of surgery, hair falling out, being sick from treatments, etc.

SS, if I had needed to wait two weeks for the second mammo, they'd have had to sedate me - I'd be totally dysfunctional. You must be a lot stronger of a person than I am.

Thankfully at this practice (for those of you near Atlanta, it's Breast Care Specialists across from Northside Hospital) you don't have to wait in limbo for two weeks. I had to do that once - wait until the week before Christmas and my birthday for a second mammogram. I was so stressed that I couldn't even bring myself to decorate the house or shop for Christmas presents. All of that seemed so relatively unimportant.

BR...I used to have them done at my gyno's office. They sent me for the follow up at the hospital. I will have all of mine done there from now on. No waiting....instant results, like you said. In fact, looking back I should have insisted I get them all done at the diagnostic place. Much better equipment, I would think, but when you have had nothing odd come up before you get complacent sometimes.

:( I have known that feeling all to well. Twice. :(

Ditto.
And both times it began on a Friday and was not resolved until the following Monday.
Hugs to BR and GTTBM and everyone who has dealt with this stuff.
I love being a woman but sometimes it does suck mightily.

Ditto.
And both times it began on a Friday and was not resolved until the following Monday.
Hugs to BR and GTTBM and everyone who has dealt with this stuff.
I love being a woman but sometimes it does suck mightily.

Thanks Cil. Mine was in the very early stages both times. As Pula said the radiation was not so bad the first go round. The chemo the second time did suck! Not to mention the major surgery that came before it.

However, I feel lucky that it was detected early and that was treatment for it. I feel lucky for everyday I've had, thanks to the advances made towards the treatment of this awful disease. Please gulls, never, ever, :nono1: put off taking care of yourselves.

Ditto.
Hugs to BR and GTTBM and everyone who has dealt with this stuff.

Thanks for all of the nice comments from everyone! That's sweet.

All of you gulls take care. And don't skip a month doing a self-exam like I do once in a while because I don't want any bad news to ruin a big holiday or family event. That's just stupid.

:shock: So, so glad it was caught early gttbm. The world is a much better place with you in it. :wub: As Paula said, "early detection, early detection, early detection ..."

BR glad things worked out for you, and thanks for sharing your story. Commisseration is always good but the simple reminder of the importance of these annual tests is a huge service in itself. :clap_1:

BR, thanks for this thread and a reminder for women on how important this is. Glad things were ok for you, and it is very upsetting to worry even for an hour while waiting for more testing. You always think the worst. And I do believe it is imperative to have a good practice that specializes in breast care. I go to a surgeon & his specialty is breast care/cancer. Even tho I've never had breast cancer, my mother has, and I have fibrocystic disease. That's not uncommon. But I can never do self-exams, too many cysts. Yearly, I have to go to my breast surgeon 1st, have as many of the cysts aspirated as possible, then go the very next day for the mammogram/ultrasound. Fortunately, I get immediate readings and results. None of this going back, sitting, waiting, worrying, thinking about your life. I get REALLY nervous in the days before, and I dread doing it, but when its over, I feel so much releif. And as gttbm & others said, early detection is the key. I never let my exams go past 10 or 12 months.

Johnrudy, I have a close relative with fibrocystic disease, yet she chose to have a boob job. I was totally against it - why should she make things even harder to monitor by adding scar tissue and implants?

Johnrudy, I have a close relative with fibrocystic disease, yet she chose to have a boob job. I was totally against it - why should she make things even harder to monitor by adding scar tissue and implants?

That's exactly right - - the scar tissue. I asked my surgeon about doing that a few years ago. I just wanted all of this worrry to be gone. But he said absolutely not because of the scar tissue. That's denser than anything - & no telling what could be hiding behind that. I can't believe her dr. even did this. That's sort of scary.

That's exactly right - - the scar tissue. I asked my surgeon about doing that a few years ago. I just wanted all of this worrry to be gone. But he said absolutely not because of the scar tissue. That's denser than anything - & no telling what could be hiding behind that. I can't believe her dr. even did this. That's sort of scary.

Actually she did it twice. She did it once, decided they weren't big enough, so she did it again! 😱

Actually she did it twice. She did it once, decided they weren't big enough, so she did it again! 😱

Didn't she RUN back and get some more???? ;-)