Arrrgh!!!

nicely put buffy.

I agree with everything you say, Buffy. Also isn't it a bit like going to the dentist: not something you look forward to, you can feel somewhat uncomfortable with some of the things that they do to you, but once it's done you know that any potential problems have either been resolved or (if dental x-rays are involved) at least discovered. The only mammogram I had wasn't the most comfortable experience of my life but soon over and worth it both for the sake of my health and for peace of mind.

If god had wanted me to have pancakes for breasts, she would have slathered me in maple syrup (from NH, of course!) prior to my birth. You know what is more uncomfortable than interminably repeating the darned mamograms? When they decide that they need to do a biopsy and the only way the surgeon can be sure that she excises the correct mass is to have someone insert a needle--poking, and poking, and poking (god only knows how many times)into the breast until the x-ray shows that the tip of the needle is at just the right spot for the surgeon's scalpel. Of course, it didn't hurt the poker, so no pain ease of any sort was offered!

Make mine Gouda, please. ; )

WOW! You've earned the right to whine about THAT! My niece had something similar done, but it was just before they did her surgery, so she was sedated. I can't imagine having them do that while I was awake and could SCREAM at them!

The worst of this is.....there are other tests that could do the job, but we don't get them because they are more expensive! It seems to me that women really need to lobby for KINDER and better care!

I love the NH syrup line! *G*

Thank you, bod!

Adele...have you had just ONE mammogram? We are encouraged by our doctors to get a baseline mammogram at 40, and then one every year thereafter. About ten years ago, there was a move to change that to every other year, but I don't think that caught on.

Buffy--As I recall (and you know how much THAT is worth!), the ever-other-year timing was for younger women. I don't recall the upper limit of "younger"; but, I know they set it "low" enough that I am in the every year category! You and Adele may well qualify for "younger".

We ample women should save some of our sympathy for thin and not-so-ampy-endowed women like Bogie. Mammograms are REALLY painful for her!

And I should proof read to catch my spelling of "ever" for "every" and "ampy" for "amply". On the other hand, I rather like to think that we are "ampy". It just sounds upbeat!

Ronnie--If you are reading this, I want you to know that I deliberately made the typos so that you would not feel alone. Yeah, right!

i once had a small lump removed with a syringe. not something you want to find when youre breast feeding....or indeed at all. i can think of better surprises.

See...I think it's fair to whine about these things, bod...but I still think we need to be tested. You can be sure that if GUYS were tested the same way, we would be using different machines to test, by now.

Cop Car, I think you're right about the every-other-year testing being for the young'uns. I don't happen to fall into that bracket. I get to do mine annually.

As for the typos....I read right past them. For some reason, these two didn't distract me. I see have a lot of competition for "Typo Queen." I better get over to Ronnie's blog to see what she's had to say lately about typos!

The first thing I need to do is to spell Ronni, correctly. You spelled it with an "e", too, just to make me feel better, didn't you? How gracious of you. Thank you!

Yes, I have only ever had one mammogram in my life. Where I live the policy is for women over the age of 50 to have one every 5 years and I had one, oh it must be 3 years ago. Not my most favourite pasttime in the world but it didn't take long.

The difference in the recommendations concerning frequency of mammograms just amazes me! We are constantly bombarded with the warning that early detection is necessary to cure a cancer, and in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we will be exhorted to get our tests done. I wish I was adept enough at surfing to find the statistics I need to see how women in the US and in the UK compare when it comes to finding and curing breast cancer. I realize that diet and lifestyle come into play, and that it's not just early detection that matters, but prevention, as well. Still, it would be interesting to see if we have a higher incidence of cancer here which might explain the push to be tested.

I was sent for a baseline at 35. Then at 40, I was supposed to get one every year. However, I missed that because I didn't go to the doctor again until I was 43.

For us not so well endowed women, they try to bring all the shoulder into the picture too. Doesn't work very well and is very painful.

Bogie, you have my sympathy. I can recall the edge of the screen cutting into my shoulder, and I'm not sure which hurt more the compression or that shoulder stuff.