mammogram

I lost a little of my boob Friday.

Kristie Wells

Let’s just call Friday ‘doctor day’.

It started with a cold stethoscope and a few coughs to make sure my lungs were clear as I have been battling the flu bug for two weeks, and it took a turn for the worse a couple of days ago. I wanted to make sure it is not turning into something that will make me even pissier than I already am (I have a history of both strep and sinus infections). Doctor said it was a standard flu bug and sent me on my way with a bottle of codeine cough syrup and an inhaler and asked me to call them in two weeks if I am not finally better.

Oh yeah, before the doctor let me get out his front door – he sat me down and gave me a tetanus shot. Figured he might as well get me while I too weak to fight. Kidding. Kind of.

After a quick break for lunch, I headed to the labs for an ultrasound of my left boob. I had my first (ever) mammogram last month and the technician found some ‘oddities’, so they asked me to come in for another mammogram, which I did this past Tuesday. Not being able to get a clear picture then has me back at the labs today, this time for an ultrasound.

I tried to live tweet the ultrasound, you know, because I could.

Twitter Feeds from Doctors Visits

I am happy to report all seems to be good and it was ‘simply’ multiple benign cysts. Will go back in for another mammogram next year to make sure nothing else is brewing, but I am happy to have gone through the steps and hopefully resolved this for good.

UPDATE 2/23/09: Adds links from Flickr posts.

Mammogram, Part II

Kristie Wells

Went in this morning for another mammogram since my first scan was not clear.

The first mammogram didn’t hurt, this time she almost brought me to tears. The technician squished the hell out of my left boob – again, and again, and again, and again.

After four scans, the technician and doctor are still undecided.

Kiki Gets a Mammogram

Seems this white circle near the bottom in my left boob is causing them a little concern. So we have scheduled an ultrasound this coming Friday and will see where we go from there.

You know you are getting old[er] when…

Kristie Wells

…your doctor states you are ‘now in the age group where mammograms are highly recommended.’ ::le sigh::

The process itself is simple enough – go into a cold room wearing nothing but a sheet, place your boobs on a cold plate, apply lots of pressure to said boobs, then hold breathe, scan, let breathe out, put clothes on, leave.

The pressure machine:

Kiki Gets a Mammogram

The full set of my little adventure can be found on Flickr, and I even shot a couple of videos…

One before going in:

One coming out:

Nothing too exciting, but I thought important to document the process as I read about women who don’t get these tests done out of fear of the process. Please do not wait. If you have a history of breast cancer in your family or are over the age of 40 – see your doctor and get the mammogram* done now.

* Thought for next time – when I tweeted I was going in for this test, someone recommend I check out Breast Thermography as an alternative to the mammogram. I need to do some more research on this, but I am all for limiting the amount of zaps my body takes in this lifetime.

UPDATE 12/22/08: Got a call from Kaiser today who asked me to come back in for a second screening as my xray was not clear enough for the doctor to give me a green light. Not sweating it right now – seems girls who have a little more in the boobage department sometimes have this happen as there is a lot of fatty tissue and they have no prior tests to compare against. So I am scheduled to go back in mid January – so wish me luck!