Last week for the first time in seven years, I had a mammogram at McLeod Health in Cheraw.
It has been about seven years since I had a mammogram.
Last week, I had one. It was long overdue, and I shouldn’t have waited so long. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in eight women in this country will develop breast cancer over her lifetime.
This fact hit home for me in October 2005.
I was eight months pregnant with my son when my mother, Josephine Lowery, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought a brave fight but died from the disease in September 2010 at the age of 53.
She was 49 when she was diagnosed. I just turned 49 a week ago. I should know better than anyone the importance of early screening.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women.
This year, an estimated 287,500 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed. An estimated 43,550 women will die from breast cancer in the country.
With these and other facts in mind, I talked with officials at McLeod Health in Cheraw to help me set up a mammogram on Oct. 13. A mammogram is an imaging test used to screen women for breast cancer. It wasn’t my first one, but I was nervous about it.
The American Cancer Society has said that women aged 40 to 44 should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening with mammograms (x-rays of the breast) if they wish to do so. Women aged 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year. Women 55 and older should switch to mammograms every two years or can continue yearly screening.
Why are mammograms important? They can detect cancer before you are able to feel a lump. Early in 2005, my mother commented on the fact that one of her breasts felt weird. She didn’t want to think about cancer. She didn’t elaborate on it because both of her children were about to provide her with grandchildren.
Later that year, I was eight months pregnant and at work when my father called to tell me that my mother had passed out in the parking lot at her place of employment.
I found out the next day that my mother had been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. When caught early, breast cancer has a survival rate of 99%.
The process
First, I must thank Terri. She was the radiology technician, and she was terrific. I was a bundle of nerves, but her calming manner made me feel so much better.
I received two reminder phone calls ahead of my appointment. Each call was to remind me not to wear deodorant the day of my mammogram. Some deodorants contain aluminum and could provide a false reading with the mammogram.
After going through registration, I met Terri. She asked me questions about my family history and explained the process. I had to undress from the waist-up. McLeod-Cheraw uses 3D Mammography. This technology allows doctors to examine the breast tissue layer by layer. Terri said the advanced technology offered greater accuracy and earlier detection.
Yes, there was some squishing and minimal discomfort. “The breast will be tight but it won’t be an ouch,” Terri said.
It took about 30 minutes with only Terri and I in the room as she took images of my breasts one at a time. It will take a little while for me to get the results because they will have to get previous mammograms from my doctor in Mount Olive, N.C., to compare against.
In addition to regular mammograms, remember to do a self-exam every month. Check for any unusual changes, such as:
– Changes and lumps on the inside or outside of your breasts, chest, pectoral muscles, collarbone, nipples, torso, or underarms.
– Strange discharge or fluid from the nipples that is bloody, clear, or pus-like and smells foul.
– Skin changes that are bumpy, dark, a different color, itchy, painful, puckered, rash-like, redness, sores, ulcers, shrunken, swollen, or tender.
If it’s time for you to have your first or annual mammogram, don’t postpone it. You never know when it could save your life.