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)

The spiders found me !

Just for giggles, I tried searching for my website using www.google.com and www.yahoo.com. Typing the search phrase “2007 Avon Walk”, my website was #3 on Yahoo and #5 on Google. I never submitted the site to the search engines. Apparently, my site is designed well enough that the spiders (software applications used by search engines to index web pages) found me. How cool is that ! I guess all these years working to get our company website indexed has paid off. I am listed right behind the Avon Foundations website.

Show you care… Don’t let cancer steal second base t-shirts

I finally figured out how to set up a PayPal account and list the shirts for sale online. I placed an ad on Craig’s List and on the Avon Message board. So far I have received 2 orders !

If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, simply check out the webpage I created.

I have to admit, I was not creative enough to come up with the saying. I saw someone wearing a similar shirt last year on the walk. It took me a while to figure out what it meant. I guess I am a little slow sometimes.

Avon Expo

The Avon Expo was held at the borough of Manhattan college. Jane, my mom, and I attended the event. Jane and I had the opportunity to give a short talk to the new walkers about “Why I walk”. About a half dozen walkers spoke about why the participate in the walk. It was a very moving experience.
Afterwards we manned the teams desk and answered questions about how to form or join a team. We even were able to add a couple of walkers to Earthbound Angels team.
We brought along our t-shirts and bracelets to sell, we never stop fund-raising.