Baby's First Mammogram

I can't imagine what all the fuss was about. It wasn't nearly the OH MY GOD sort of thing that so many people make it out to be. I was not disappointed by that but I was surprised. I must say that Janet and Pat were more honest about it. It is just a second or two and then that is it, it is over!

I arrived at the Montville facility around 1535, which was good - there was a boatload of paperwork to be filled out and I needed around seven minutes for that alone. Maybe even ten. I filled out one general/insurance/payment/HIPAA form, one form specific to the mammogram and one specific to the DEXA (bone density scan).

Once that was done, the front desk person copied my Cigna card and I sat down but only for a minute or two before the technician came to get me. She was very pleasant - she was probably in her late 20s (maybe), and pregnant - about six or seven months. She had a nice demeanor and seemed to like to talk so we chatted through the whole thing - both tests.

They would not allow a photo to be taken of me having the mammogram, though. I did ask.

The machine is not at all a scary looking aparatus at all. It has a plate with dotted-line guidelines for breast placement and unlike what I'd been told, this facility did not tape the nipples with a piece to help line up the breast correctly. She took two images - one lateral and one from above.

I suppose a lot of women find it embarrassing to stand there while the technician actually does all the placement of the breast on the plate for each image. Having only had four done, it was easy and I found the experience to be just fine. Of course, as an EMT you get used to handling people all over and so having a trained medical professional (especially one the same gender) handle my breasts did not bother me at all. It was completely clinical, just like going to the gynecologist.

Yes, they do squash the breast fairly flat, although not as much as I'd been lead to believe. I felt pressure, not pain, and it was as long as maybe three to four seconds. Then I exhaled and the machine lifted up. It was quite easy and very quick.

The bone density was a very simple scan and not worth mentioning, other than I had it done. I should have those results soon!