A Tight Squeeze

After work today, I went to get a mammogram at Solis Women's Health in Plano. Women are supposed to get one every year, but it has been a couple of years since I have had one. 

They have a really nice office and everybody there was very courteous and nice!  Once they check you in,  they have you take off your shirt and bra and put on a cape.  After a short wait, the technician calls you into a room with the mammogram machine.  The technician had the images from my previous mammogram up so that she could compare the new images with them.

The technician asks you to take one side of the cape off and then presses a foot pedal to adjust to the height of your left breast. The technician positions your breast sideways on a flat plate and then presses a pedal to bring another plate down to flatten it as much as possible. The technician then asks you to hold your breath while she runs over to flip a switch to take the image.  This takes an image of the breast as well as the muscle behind it. It really hurt on my left side, but fortunately, it was only for a few seconds.  After getting a sideways image, the technician positions the breast on top of the plate and presses a pedal to have another plate press  the top of the breast down as flat as possible the other way.  This position was somewhat uncomfortable, but wasn't as bad as the first.  The picture below shows what happens during the second "squeeze" session.  Please note that this is not me in the picture!

Woman (not me!) Getting a Mammogram

After the left breast is done, you get to do the same thing all over again on your right breast! For some reason, it wasn't bad at all on the right side for me.  The technician asked me to sit for a minute while she looked at the images. She said that they looked really "purdy" but that a radiologist would have to review them.  If the radiologist sees any problems, their office will contact me.  If not, I'll receive a letter in the mail indicating that my mammogram results were normal.  I hope that I receive the letter and not a phone call!

When the technician did the first "squeeze", I felt a moment of panic at how trapped I felt and how uncomfortable it was.  However, I can't even imagine how frightening it must be for women who have breast cancer and have to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy!  That must be a truly frightening and painful experience!

Update - June 20, 2012

I received a letter from Solis saying that my Mammogram result were normal.  I'm so glad!