National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Little late in the game, but still worth mentioning.

My one main question is this........ How much does that mammogram really hurt? It is a very, honest question. Though i know how important they are i FEAR them.

I don't think it hurts at all; discomfort, yes, but "hurt" meaning pain, no. Please note that I don't think the dentist is a big deal either. No, I don't get excited about either, but I can "put on my big girl pants" and deal with it. It certainly beats not doing it and dealing with later consequences.

Becky,

Mammograms don't hurt- they are just uncomfortable. ( Really!) The newer Mammogram machines reduce this discomfort so if you are particularly worried, ask around for one of the centers with these.

As a 5 year breast cancer survivor this month ( Yeah!), I can personally speak to the value of regular ( early ) mammograms. My cancer was caught in the very early stages from my annual mammogram in my 40's; my type of cancer didn't form a lump so it would not have been caught by exam untill it was much, much more progressed. That mammogram and the wonderful people at James Brown may have saved my life.

Ladies: Go get your mammogram- your babies/husbands/friends want you around for a long time!

Deb

I've had 2 mammograms due to little lumps (I'm only 33) and I thought they were very uncomfortable. But they're so quick that thankfully it doesn't last long. It was one of those 'kind of takes your breath away from you" for a few seconds kind of pains. The first one I had at DMIA and thought they were going to rip my breast off . My last one was at Jewish Northeast and they have newer and better equipment with better padding. But it's worth it! And I had to tell myself that.

Maybe I'm just a weenie though. I hate dental cleanings, but I thought my lasik surgery was a piece of cake..

About 8 years ago i found a lump, a very large lump. I cannot remember very clearly, but they did not perform a mammogram, i was wayyyyy too freaked out, just couldnt handle it. but also, the doctor did something else a xray type thing maybe. They found a large mass surrounded by a lot of other small masses, best described as a bunch of grapes. I had a biopsy the next day, then surgery the next day.

It was all pretty overwhelming and scary. But thank God it was ok. They said the mass was like a lot of small tumors but were "normal". They removed as much as they could, but said if they took out more it would be like a partial mastectomy.

very scary experience. what made it difficult was the doctors. They were very nice and all, but doing everything so quickly bam bam bam is what overwhelmed me. Of course i am not complaining, i know that is what saves lives.

I dislike mammograms so much that I become very unpleasant shall we say. The first one I ever had the tech caught my collar bone in the clamp and I could not convince her I was in pain and it's not like you can just walk out of that thing. I am usually very fascinated by medical procedures but this one I have to mentally talk myself into and I try very hard to be nice. I have a "just get it over with" kind of attitude.