Karen’s Training Log

Musings on mammograms

In June, I went to Westfield Imaging for my mammogram. It always amazes me that mammography remains such a painful test, despite all the technological advances made in blood tests and imaging. A breast is not a two dimensional object, yet medical science insists on smashing it flat in order to best view any abnormalities within it.

The technician who preformed the exam was horrible. Maybe she is new to the profession, or maybe she is just a sadist. She grabbed and yanked my breast onto the plastic shelf of the machine. Then she wedged the top plastic plate of the machine into my shoulder, right into a pressure point where the arm and shoulder join. I have used this point in karate to drop large men. It was excruciatingly painful and when I asked her to adjust the plate, she told me to be still and not breath. Not a problem, as I was about to pass out from the pain. Perhaps this is a new technique: cause pain else where and the patient won’t notice the pain as the breast is compressed into a pancake.

A week later, I received a call informing me that “An area requiring further examination” had been noted on the film. Wonderful. I went back about a month later for the additional tests. Again I sat in the small closet that resembled a photo booth. The seat was a wood bench and there was a full length mirror on the opposite wall. A box of Kleenex, a spray can of deodorant and cloth gowns in plastic wrap sat next to me on the bench. After changing into the gown, opening in the front, I opened the curtain, sat down, and waited. I could see the legs of the women seated in the booths on the opposite site of the narrow hallway. Also waiting.  (more)