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Question of the Day, Friday, Sept 30

post #1 of 17
9/30/11 at 2:33am
Thread Starter 
Good morning!

My question is for the ladies on the board today....

I am going for my annual mammogram this morning (wish me luck!) and so I was wondering....

Have you had your mammogram yet this year? If not, will you? (Yes, I know, this is kind of a private issue, but it's also an important issue. Probably the most important thing you can do for yourself. You don't have to answer if you don't wish to do so.)
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post #2 of 17
9/30/11 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winchester View Post
Good morning!

My question is for the ladies on the board today....

I am going for my annual mammogram this morning (wish me luck!) and so I was wondering....

Have you had your mammogram yet this year? If not, will you? (Yes, I know, this is kind of a private issue, but it's also an important issue. Probably the most important thing you can do for yourself. You don't have to answer if you don't wish to do so.)
Good luck!!

Not yet this year, but I had a little scare a few years back, so I get a reminder from all my medical people.

It's important to self examine every single month ladies!!!
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post #3 of 17
9/30/11 at 2:53am
No I havent but im only 25
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post #4 of 17
9/30/11 at 3:19am
I havent started doing them yet but I have a family history of breast cancer so my ob/gyn wants me to start going when Im 30 unless I notice something wrong during a self check or during my annual exams. My mom has to go for mammograms all the time because she has already had to have lumps removed, thankfully they have all been benign.
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post #5 of 17
9/30/11 at 3:50am
I've read and heard information that mammograms are not as effective as they once believed so I ask for (and get) ultrasound exams instead. I just had my annual examination so my ultrasound is being scheduled for the next couple weeks.

If a mammogram does show anything, they then send you for an ultrasound so I just by-pass the mammogram.

I stopped having pap tests years ago. Apparently after 3 negative paps following a complete hysterectomy there is no need for further pap tests.
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post #6 of 17
9/30/11 at 3:50am
Nope, I'm only 28 so they dont give them to me yet....BUT I do have to go for a pap smear in about 45 mins
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post #7 of 17
9/30/11 at 3:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by -_aj_- View Post
No I havent but im only 25
This. I am 29 so I don't have them yet.
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post #8 of 17
9/30/11 at 4:29am
Haven't had one either but I am just 21. Will do when necessary though.
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post #9 of 17
9/30/11 at 5:20am
Wow! Ironic! I just had mine yesterday!

3 years ago, a lump was discovered (through a mammogram), it was caught early, cancerous, removed, and 1.7 centimeters, with nothing in the lymph nodes. (Thankfully)

After 3 1/2 months of chemo, 6 weeks of radiation, herceptin for a year as well (for 3 months with the chemo, and the remaining on its own) and now Arimidex (to get rid of any remaining estrogen in my body, as the tumor was estrogen positive) for another 2 1/2 years, I had graduated to having mammos once a year, but now I'm back on every 6 months.

The imaging is so precise now, they saw little, teensy-weensy calcifications in the left breast. They were there a year ago, and they didn't grow any in a year, the imaging just showed them even more precisely and they could see them clearer, so my doc (in the followup later) told me he wants to go back to having imaging every 6 months. I'm all for that - very thorough, and I'd rather that, than letting it go for a year.

Mammos are uncomfortable, but I'm all for having those boobies squished!! Yearly mammos save lives!!
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post #10 of 17
9/30/11 at 8:07am
Nanner, so glad you are alright and that lump was found....

I have mine next month. I had to start getting mammo's in my thirties. I had a benign lump removed and have fibrocysitic issues. I usually have the mammo and sometimes the ultrasound along with it. So far so good

Pam- good luck with yours today
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post #11 of 17
9/30/11 at 9:16am
I'm almost 39, so quite likely my doc will start recommending them to me with my next Annual.

As for self-exams. I can't. And before anyone gets on my case about it, I'll explain why. I'm rather... ehhh... oversized, and whether it's genetics that have done this or what, my breasts are very fibrous... so I feel lumps all the time... they're full of 'em, but they're just regular tissue. My doc does the exam each year and says they're all normal... we've only had one person, an aunt, with breast cancer, in my family... and she was on my mom's side... I tend to take after my dad's side for genetic things... seriously. But we check anyway. I just can't do self checks, or I'd be running to the doc each month freaking out about all the lumps in my boobs...
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post #12 of 17
9/30/11 at 9:28am
Thread Starter 
Nanner, I'm so glad you're OK now.

A mammogram several years ago found a suspicious area in my right breast, but upon further examination, it turned out that it was just a cyst they were able to pop. Thank goodness.

I think I mentioned before that breast cancer is rampant in my family, especially on my mom's side. A great-grandmother, a great-aunt, several cousins. And one of my paternal aunts also had a small cancer in her breast. So it scares me, especially because I am still on hormones....a compound of three hormones (had a total hysterectomy at 24....I'm 56 now). I get bloodwork every year to make sure I'm OK and I go for that mammogram, too.

While I'm not particularly blessed with being overly-endowed, I do have a lot of calcifications and such. It's difficult for me to do the self-exams, too, because I'm constantly finding something funky.

Thanks for the good luck vibes! I was in and out in about 20 minutes as I was their first patient. I should receive my "You're fine" letter early next week. Or a phone call for more x-rays. (But please no phone call!!!)
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post #13 of 17
9/30/11 at 11:08am
I've never had one, but I'm also only 24. Will do when the time comes. Though I'd like to see them try and squish the little lumps on my chest

I'm glad you're okay Nanner! How frightening.
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post #14 of 17
9/30/11 at 12:34pm
Never had one, I am only 25.
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post #15 of 17
10/1/11 at 9:57am
I'm overdue for mine. The last one I had was fall of 2010 and I just found out I was pregnant (I miscarried). The doctor wanted me to call and schedule an appointment after I gave birth but I kind of forgot about it. Thanks for the reminder.

A word of advice for anyone doing this for the first time. If the doctor wants a biopsy, it does NOT mean the C word! The first mammogram I had, the doctor's office called and just said "you need a biopsy...there is something there". I was sure I had breast cancer until it was explained to mean that any mass should be tested to determine what it is. Turns out I have dense cysts but they needed to make sure they weren't malignant. They just need a "base line" image to go by.
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post #16 of 17
10/1/11 at 10:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by calico2222 View Post
.....A word of advice for anyone doing this for the first time. If the doctor wants a biopsy, it does NOT mean the C word! The first mammogram I had, the doctor's office called and just said "you need a biopsy...there is something there". I was sure I had breast cancer until it was explained to mean that any mass should be tested to determine what it is. Turns out I have dense cysts but they needed to make sure they weren't malignant. They just need a "base line" image to go by.
Good words of advice.
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post #17 of 17
10/1/11 at 7:06pm
There are 2 things I never go without each year...flu shot and mammogram.I'd rather have the flu shot,thank you!Already had them both and all is well.
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