Which do you DISLIKE more, Mammogram or Pap smear?

Ladies my wife has had to undergo a Mamogram and pap smear, we were discussing which she dislikes most and the opinion is with the Mamogram by a short head .

...or by a nipple? 😉

Pap smear done this time around with no issues other than the typical embarassment factor. Still pending is that dreaded mammogram! A friend just now recovering from a mastectomy due to breast cancer and I know more than ever how important it is to do this mammogram. The issue is that mammograms genuinely hurt for women like me with boobs that have to be squashed in the process. Can you imagine if something similar was part of the screening process for guys - squish the rounded cock and balls to a flatness between two metal plates? I swear this mammogram procedure had to have been invented by some saddistic male in years gone by. Oh the things we women have to do! Shall I go on with the indignities of periods, etc . . . ? No wonder we women will take all the pampering we can get - quite simply, because we deserve such pampering ladies!

Can you imagine if something similar was part of the screening process for guys - squish the rounded cock to a flatness between two metal plates?

Actually @anng squishing the penis would not really be a big deal at all, as it can take quite a bit of punishment. Most of us do it harder than a mammogram every day while watching porn!!

Now balls on the other hand... yowza!!!! We can certainly sympathize there!!

Dislike the Mammogram. The pap smear is quick. Had to have an extensive Mammogram due to possible Breast cancer The worst Mammogram is had to get9 biopsy's and get a Mammogram after that ugh.

Interesting question and I’ll be curious to see women’s responses and why. I’d also be interested to know what women feel is more embarrassing and why.

Dislike the Mammogram. The pap smear is quick. Had to have an extensive Mammogram due to possible Breast cancer The worst Mammogram is had to get9 biopsy's and get a Mammogram after that ugh.

Hope everything turned out okay.

I really can't pick one to choose over the other. I had my first mammogram in January and it was not bad, it didn't hurt and I was allowed to sit on my walker as I have trouble standing for long periods of time.

I have never found a PAP test to be painful. It's more the indignity of having someone examining your private parts. But then, a stranger is seeing your boobs with the mammogram, too.

I have to agree mammogram is slightly worse. I would prefer to have the pap done every year than mammogram. I think we need to progress towards mammogram every 3 to 5 years if previous normal unless issues arise during annual exam or self exam, like they had done with pap smear

I find the mammogram more uncomfortable and more embarrassing. I think exposing breasts to a stranger at least for me is more humiliating than the Dr doing pap while already down there examining things anyhow. The worst of either is time spent waiting.

My brothers wife had the cancer gene and was required to do a mammogram every 6 months. She waited 2 years and had stage 4 cancer when she did get the test. Ladies get it done and quit whining.

@Moppys_jalopy Don't mammograms hurt though? I get it though a little pain a life time of prevention.

Mammogram is definitely worse for me. It's pretty painful and cannot be done at my gyn office, plus the wait time always seem super long.

I have to agree mammogram is slightly worse. I would prefer to have the pap done every year than mammogram. I think we need to progress towards mammogram every 3 to 5 years if previous normal unless issues arise during annual exam or self exam, like they had done with pap smear

Here in Ontario, Canada, it is every two years if you don't have risk factors and previous ones were normal.

@Moppys_jalopy Don't mammograms hurt though? I get it though a little pain a life time of prevention.

I guess it's individual, I'm seeing some people say it hurts but for me, it didn't.

A mammogram - a guy should have his nuts examined like that and then maybe, just maybe, they would invent something better. A pap smear isn't a lot of fun either - but that is not as bad, in my opinion, becuase it is quick and involves only one area. My girls - well, there's two of them and like another said, you have to go to another office sometimes.

There's part of me hates them both because it reminds me that I've got body parts that don't feel right. But the exhibitionist in me enjoys them too.

I've had a few paps but only one mammogram. I definitely preferrd the mammogram.

When I'm getting a pap I'm always convinced there could be something wrong that I'm not aware of. With the mamogram I know there's still a chance but far less statistically likely at my age, and probably more chance of noticing if there was.

With the pap I find the whole internal bit really uncomfortable. After a couple of years on hormones, and never really using it, I'm tight and can be quite dry too. The mamogram felt much more like being heavily manhandled, and that's something I quite like. So I enjoyed the positioning and I also like firm pressure on my body, so the squeezing was quite enjoyable too.

Personally, I'm not a fan of either (even though they are both necessary diagnostic tests) but I'd have to say I dislike the mammogram a bit more than pap. Had my very first mammogram this year establish a baseline and it was quite the ordeal. I had no idea that you can get “called back” for more mammography images which is what happened to me. There was a certain area that needed to be looked at more closely. Was told that this was common since radiologists haven't seen the breast tissue when establishing your baseline, so they want to be sure they don't miss anything. Due to Covid, had to wait over a month to get the followup which was a 3d mammogram and ultrasound, so it was a very stressful time. The compression for the first mammogram was tolerable, it did get pretty uncomfortable when the tech positioned me to get the images of lymph nodes in the armpits. I had spot compression for the followup 3D mam and the tech told me it would be more uncomfortable since she needed to use more compression to flatten out the tissue, and boy was she right! Fortunately everything turned out alright, just have denser breast tissue in that certain area.

I love all things medical , love getting a mammo and loved pap's of days gone by

I'm 36 so I never experienced a mammogram yet. I HATE Pap smears though! Don't get one anywhere NEAR period week! Everything is sensitive and hurts so much more!

A close female friend finds the mammogram difficult because her breastbone protrudes slightly, so that when the plate comes down to squeeze her breasts it rubs uncomfortably against her front. There is also the stress element as they often find issues that turn out to be watery cysts that have to be drained with a long needle, and her sister had breast cancer so that is always hovering in the background as well. She doesn't find the pressure on her breasts so much of a problem as she is a 36c so medium size, I would imagine it might be more uncomfortable for women with a bigger bust.

As for the pap smear she is normally OK with that when they take the sample from her cervix, but she does normally find the speculum uncomfortable…

By the time I had a mammogram, I no longer had a cervix. After my first mammogram, I would have preferred a pap smear. It was so painful that I didn't have another one done for 15 years.

My last doctor convinced me to start going again. It wasn't painful like the first. It's either better technology, a more experienced mammo tech or maybe it's my excess back fat. Two years in a row, I was lucky and got the same tech. I even gave her a good review.

Due to breast density, I still have to have an ultrasound after the mammogram. I'm going to ask my doctor why they can't just do the ultrasound instead of the mammogram.

I dislike the mammogram more. I made the mistake of doing mine before my cycle & my breasts were super swollen & tender. I won’t make that mistake again

As a transgender woman i don't need pap smear since i don't have a cervix (I'm post-op so i do have a vulva)

However i have had two mammograms and one ultrasound. I get mine done at the army health clinic and they use modern techhnology so it doesn't hurt at all, yes you can feel the machine pushing the tissue down on the plate, but it goes kind of quick.

The hardest for me is to stay still and hold my breath. 😊