Charlene Sparks comments : I read your 'MYTH' that mammograms are painful. That is not a myth. It hurts me so badly I cry when they smash my breasts in that machine. And they are sore for at least a week later. It is the outer edges that really hurt and I am not a hysterical type woman and I have endured pain before. I did not scream with labor pains. I quit taking pain medication BEFORE they were ready to quit giving them after a hysterectomy and after having part of my intestines removed. But mammorgrams HURT and I am not the only one who thinks so, I know 3 other women who say it is not discomfort, it is pain. Charlene Sparks
Janet Ruth Nagel comments : Mammograms are painful. I cried too and had bruises on the tops of my breasts and over the ribs right under each breast that lasted for weeks.
D Shields comments : Yes, mammograms are painful. But it deppends what technology are using.
http://homepage.mac.com/penagoscorzo/cancer/
P Shields comments : I forget this link, in my last post. Sorry.
Linda Bryant comments : I found a lump in my breast..yes I had pain..went and had mamogram...that was not enough to say breast cancer...so he suggested that I have a ultra-sound..then I was told that yes I do have breast cancer.next was removal of my breast..which I will never forget the pain alot of drainage port put in..which was very painfull.chemo was next..nausea and sores in my mouth..so on a positive side I/m cancer free....but not without going through hell... after chemo and raditation and alot of scars..and scar tissues..I have had 31 lympnodes removed from having a removal of my breast...now I suffer with a left arm that is allmost worthless..swells up double and triple in size...I have to live with this the rest of my life..and I/m left-handed....
Janet Van Dusen comments : My Mammograms are EXTREMELY painful, and I am sick and tired of the repeated claims on the internet that there is "only a mild discomfort". I hope this is true for most women, but certainly not for all. My breasts are black and blue for days afterwards. Twice I got false positives and have had to repeat them. I am a statistician, have analyzed the pros and cons, and have decided I am not going to get another (I have no family history or other prediliction to cancer) until the technology is greatly improved. (If men had to get these tests annually, there would be a huge research budget devoted to solving these problems).
STanko comments : How could anyone be so insensitive to say a Mammogram is not painful?! I have had one in my lifetime 4 years ago and will never go again until the Inventors of these smash machines find a way to do a more humane, less painful test. No wonder we worry about cancer cells that are laying dormant popping and spreading. It is very very Painful and humiliating especially in larg breasted women so take it from someone who has had her girls smashed. Of course it hurts. Andit wasn't the techs fault - you have tosmash them FLAT to get a picture -ya think that might hurt?
Gabriela Ballistreri comments : Scientists agree that there is no safe dose of radiation. Cellular DNA in the breast is more easily damaged by very small doses of radiation than thyroid tissue or bone marrow; in fact, breast cells are second only to fetal tissues in sensitivity to radiation. And the younger the breast cells, the more easily their DNA is damaged by radiation. As an added risk, one percent of American women carry a hard-to-detect oncogene which is triggered by radiation; a single mammogram increases their risk of breast cancer by a factor of 4-6 times. "The usual dose of radiation during a mammographic x-ray is from 0.25 to1 rad with the very best equipment; that's 1-4 rads per screening mammogram (two views each of two breasts). And, according to Samuel Epstein, M.D., of the University of Chicago's School of Public Health, the dose can be ten times more than that . Sister Rosalie Bertell-one of the world's most respected authorities on the dangers of radiation-says one rad increases breast cancer risk one percent and is the equivalent of one year's natural aging. "If a woman has yearly mammograms from age 55 to age 75, she will receive a minimum of 20 rads of radiation. For comparison, women who survived the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima or Nagasaki absorbed 35 rads. Though one large dose of radiation can be more harmful than many small doses, it is important to remember that damage from radiation is cumulative."
Joanne D. comments : I will never get another mammogram. We must force technology to acknowledge the pain and come up with something better.
Cynthai H comments : Mammograms are painful, but I'm sure the pain from undetected breast cancer is far worse. I have had four Mammos and I go back tomorrow for an ultrasound, because they found something on my latest Mammo. I had an aunt who died of breast cancer and I don't want to put my family thru what hers went thru. I will have Mammos no matter how painful!!!
Sandra Rieser comments : I swore I'd never have another, the worst pain ever experienced. Now, the U.S. Government is blackmailing me. If I refuse to have one at this time, they will make it illegal for me to obtain my prescription medicine, which I must have. I am outraged! I had a complete hysterectomy with bilateral oophoro-salgingectomy in 1977. Which to those of you who may not know, requires that I take minimal doses of Estrogen for life. In 31 years I have suffered no side effects from the pills. However, without them, sadly I found out once, I fall apart, all my bodily systems are effected and I became suicidal. So, I have no choice at this juncture, I must submit to another mammogram. No one in generations traceable in my family has ever had any form of cancer, there is no reason for this. So, in 2 days, I will be undergoing unbearable agony, on codeine pills to ease the aftereffects and be unable to drive or function for a week, my past experiences. This practice is beyond barbaric, it is criminal.
Charlene Sparks comments : Well, I wrote a while ago that mammograms being painful was NOT a myth, they HURT. Of course I still got regular Mammograms.
I had a mastectomy almost 2 months ago. But before that was the needle biopsy, then the lumpectomy, angiogram & finally the mastectomy, all between Sep & Nov. I have not been able to get a prosthesis yet and so I am still lopsided. I feel lucky that they say they got all the cancer this time, no radiation, no chemo. I will go to the Surgeon the 6th to see if I can finally get the prosthesis. I do not want another surgery just to rebuild, that is my choice at 74 years old. If I were a young woman of course I would opt for reconstructive surgery. Now I am just hoping to be free of pain before long.
Now I can look forward to a Mammogram every 6 months for quite a while to see if cancer pops up in the other breast. There HAS to be a better way. I know with all the brilliant minds in this world they could think of a less painful way to watch for cancer of the breast.
I certainly hope that they will find a way to end this nightmare of breast cancer. Since my breast cancer feeds on hormones they may find a way to protect women from that type of cancer? They say prostate cancer feeds on the male hormones too. I hope my grandchildren will not have to face the fear of those two cancers.
Charlene Sparks
Janine Jordan comments : Doesn't taking iodine help prevent/control breast cancer? Also, changing your diet so your body pH can be more alkaline supposedly is amazing at controlling cancer.
Teri Smith comments : I am 35 and had a mammogram done. It was uncomfortable but i would never say painful. However, they called me to come back in for some special views (pictures) and they had to keep going smaller with the plates (smashers) and that was very very painful... OUCH>>> It was also very very nerve racking as I am sure you can imgaine..
Sue Reynolds comments : They are painful for me. Had one done at 40 and don't remember it being so painful. Had one done at 54 and I was red afterwards and literally had to breathe like I was in labor when it was going on. I'm pretty flat chested and wonder if that is why??
DEBORAH DOWNING comments : I had my first mammogram in 1987 I was 27yrs.old.I had been lifting weights for about a week and developed a large lump in one breast,it was suggested that I have one. That was the worst pain I have ever experienced in my entire life.My breast was smashed flatter than a tortilla. I began to scream and told the tech to stop but she didn't. I left after only having one breast examined.Every step I took felt like I was being hit with a huge hammer. I was unable to go to work that night because of the pain. I called the hospital and all they said was to take some aspirin, and I would be fine. Yea right I was in pain for about a week. I am now 49 yrs. old and I will never never ever have one again. They can send a man to the moon, so what's the problem with the mammogram. This is really insane. I would bet the farm, that if this procedure,was for men it wouldn't hurt nearly as much if at all.
