What can I expect from a mammogram?

So my doctor told me that I have to get a mammogram. I guess I wasn't expecting him to say that. It kind of freaked me out and I have been avoiding making the appointment. Yes, I know that isn't smart and I am going to make the appointment, I just have had a lot of anxiety about the actual appointment.

Anyways, I would like to hear from other ladies here about what it's like and what I can expect. I don't really want to ask anyone I know, but would really appreciate some feedback.

I have had a yearly mammogram for the last 10 years. I was anxious about it the first time as well, because people had always talked about it being awful. Honestly, it is one of the easiest tests I have ever had done. I am usually in and out of the office pretty quickly. The imaging center gives me a warmed gown to put on (you are only undressing from the waist up) and a locker in which to place my belongings. The techs are always trying to make sure I am comfortable and they tell me to let them know if it hurts, because it should not hurt. Discomfort maybe, but not pain. They tell me what to do and are patient, and are very gentle when positioning my breasts in the machine and we usually get a laugh when I am trying to figure out my right side from my left side.

When you make the appointment they should tell you not to use creams, powders, lotions, or antiperspirant/deodorant. If you forget, they will give you wipes to remove it. No big deal!

My mother had breast cancer a few years ago, and I know how important it is to have this imaging done. They caught hers very early because she was diligent in keeping up with her annual mammogram and she is doing great. I am due for my next mammogram in August. I would much rather have a mammogram than go to the dentist.

Anyways, I would like to hear from other ladies here about what it's like and what I can expect. I don't really want to ask anyone I know, but would really appreciate some feedback.

This is what it is like and how you can simulate it at home:

Get naked from the waist up and lie down on the garage floor so your breast falls on the threshold where your garage door comes down. Using the remote, click the "down" button and have the electric door close down on your breast. Let it stay in the "down" position for about three minutes. When the time is up, click the remote to open the door, turn over and have your other breast rest on the threshold and repeat.

OK, it isn't quite that bad, but the plates on the machine do compress your breast so it is thinned out like a pancake so they can localize various anatomic parts of the breast.

The entire test is less than 15 minutes. Maybe 10. It is really no big deal. It is noninvasive, unlike like a pap smear, no needles like a biopsy, nothing stuck inside you, no claustrophobia like from an MRI, etc.

You will have a hospital type gown and they will take two images each breast.

I realy don't know where the first negative reports came from. It could have been a bad tech.

Go, get the test done. It will be the easiest test you ever have

click the "down" button and have the electric door close down on your breast. Let it stay in the "down" position for about three minutes. When the time is up, click the remote to open the door, turn over and have your other breast rest on the threshold and repeat.

Oh my ?

OK, it isn't quite that bad

I hope not ?

Well, that looks great lol.

Thanks a lot for all the responses. I appreciate them and they do make me feel better about this.

@ALLIE80 SEE THIS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQTw_PVzdOQ

It really isn't so bad

@Allie80, I know you specifically stated you want information from the ladies but these are mainly screening procedures for women who have nice large boobs. My wife has been going through these screenings since she was younger than you are. They can find issues besides the dreaded "C" that might need attention, like tissue thickening, because it can cause the breast tissue to be hard to penetrate to find the bad stuff.

@ALLIE80 SEE THIS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQTw_PVzdOQ

It really isn't so bad

I’m going to be honest, that looks incredibly painful. I may scream or cry if that was me. I have a prescription for Ativan that I may need to get refilled.

Thank you for the link, Susie. As far as medical stuff goes, I know that you know your stuff.

@Allie80, I even have had my "man boobs" through a mammogram screening. YEP!! After a male friend of mine died from various causes it was discovered that he had breast cancer. Mine became sore and it scared the crap out of me so I went and had it done. I was complimented for coming in because they said most men ignore these issues. It didn't actually hurt but while they exist they don't have as much meat as female versions.

They told me my issue may have been caused because I have a quantity of fat around that area and because I am a side sleeper I was pinching them. I merely would switch sides to sleep on.

So is there a time frame to get this done? An appointment scheduled? We're on you now!

@easy123 said

@Allie80, I know you specifically stated you want information from the ladies but these are mainly screening procedures for women who have nice large boobs. . . . .

That is NOT true at all.

All women need screening regardless of breast size. Younger woman with gorgeous, firm breasts, especially if they are small, may experience more pain that obese women with pendulous breasts because fatty pendulous breasts in older women are soft and easily compressible into a pancake. Smaller younger firm breasts are more difficult for the plates to grab onto and flatten from the chest wall and those women may experience more pain during the procedure.

The reason all women need screening and NOT only big breasted women is because the amount of glandular tissue in women's breasts is fairly similar and independent of the size of the breast. MOST of the breast in big breasted women is FAT. Big breasted women, even gorgeously built Playboy models have more FAT in their breasts than small breasted women.

While some women may get a lipoma in their breast which is benign, you rarely hear of women having cancerous fatty growths in their breasts (liposarcoma). The breast cancers you see are mostly ductal and lobular carcinomas--which are actual breast tissue cancers.

Studies have demonstrated that breast size is NOT related to the frequency of breast cancer.

@Allie80 it isn't that bad and there are excellent accounts from other members as to what it is actually like. I've had them and they do have some pressure but not painful. I would liken it to more of discomfort than pain and the peace of mind when the results come back are worth it.

The video @SwitchableSusie posted is excellent and @Sexy_Librarian gave an excellent account of her experience.

Go forward and have that checkup. 🌹

Ok @Allie80 here goes....

I have had plenty of mammograms, for regular screening purposes, at times fibrous breasts and breast lobules(from nursing). At its worse it was mildly uncomfortable for less than 2 minutes.

I am not big breasted, a small c cup, and while everyone is not perfectly symmetrical, one breast is almost a cup size smaller.

To get that smaller breast between the plates it does take some manipulation. Again at its highest most uncomfortable point it is mild.

I often do not understand why some women find any of it painful.

I have closed my fingers in drawers, hand in doors, banged my shin on a coffee table, I could on and on here, I am quite a klutz, and that is pain. A mammogram is not even in the same ballpark.

Ok for the women that will insist that its painful(maybe they have a low pain tolerance) I would advise them to perhaps take a couple of tylenol before hand.

If you do have tender breasts around the time of menstruation then schedule for a different time in your cycle.

Whenever I am having a procedure that is uncomfortable or painful I count, go over a favorite song in your head, poem, or make a mental shopping list. Whatever it takes to get a bit of your mind off it.

And remember, you can do this !

Xxoo

I had my first one last year at age 55 - I had been putting it off because of fear. We do them every two years starting at age 50, unless there is an issue or a family history of breast cancer. It was not bad at all. Wasn't even uncomfortable. My only complaint is that the gown was too small - next time, I'm taking my own!

Sorry, I watched the video Susie posted after I commented.

It was a fine example and explanation but I just want to make a couple of comments on my experiences.

I am short, the machine is adjustable and the tech will make adjustments, it does not really take your breast from the highest point, almost under your chin( lol slight exaggeration here) and pull it all the way down to your lower ribcage.

There is some pulling and stretching but again only mildly uncomfortable at most.

The plates do not squeeze you like a garlic press ! They flatten the breast like Susie said, a pancake.

I think you could probably squeeze your own breast (or someone else do it for you 😉) tighter than the plates actually do.

I do not think any healthy woman has ever been bruised by a mammogram.

Maybe that puts it into perspective.

Big breasted women, even gorgeously built Playboy models have more FAT in their breasts than small breasted women.

Or silicone... 😉

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented. I went ahead and finally made the appointment today. My doctor knows how nervous I am about this, so he suggested a phone consultation tomorrow just so he could check in and talk with me. Thanks again ?

Thanks @SwitchableSusie. Misstatement about mammograms being only for large women. I should have known better

One of the reasons that everybody hears how "bad" this is is because hearing how it wasn't so bad isn't memorable. People remember horror stories.

The technology has advanced a lot in the last decade or so. Modern mammogram equipment is a lot less uncomfortable than equipment used in the past. Most of the imaging is digital, NOBODY uses X-ray film anymore for these studies. Exposure times are much shorter and the pictures are much sharper than they were in the past, and most radiologists have a computer assistant that analyzes the images and highlights potential problem areas.

Breast cancer sucks. Get a mammogram.

Doc

One of the reasons that everybody hears how "bad" this is is because hearing how it wasn't so bad isn't memorable. People remember horror stories.

I heard a similar comment about Doctor and Medicine reviews. People are less likely to post a review when the have a good outcome - and more likely to post a negative review if they are dissatisfied.

I had one I guess about a year ago. It wasn't so bad. To be honest, I expected MUCH worse. I didn't want to go. It wasn't on my top ten list of "Fun Things To Do". I was taken into a changing room and given a gown. It didn't really fit me well, since I am overweight. I wasn't exactly happy about the gown not fitting, but I figured that they were going to see my boobs anyway. Then I was taken into the room where the machine was. They put these bandaid looking things over my nipples. Where a gauze pad would be was instead a little metal button, which they said is a marker. It shows them on the mammogram where our nipples are. It was not really a big deal. I wasn't really happy doing it, but I got a clean bill of health. I was worried about it because my younger cousin just passed away from breast cancer a few days after her birthday last year. It was really sad and scary...and I don't want to go through that myself. It was worth going and getting it done.

Good luck with your appointment! I've had them yearly for the past few years, in addition to some breast sonograms. The mammogram is pretty uncomfortable, but doesn't take too long. My breasts get very tender during periods, so I avoid doing them that time of the month.