To have found my first mammogram really upsetting?

YANBU We should be asked for explicit consent. It doesn't take 20 seconds to say "to get the best imaging I may need to place my hands on your breasts to place them on to the plates. You can at any time ask me to stop and I'll make sure the door is closed so no one can burst in, I do understand it can be uncomfortable but shouldn't be painful. Are you happy to begin?"

I teach student nurses and always try to get them to steer away from "I'm just going to....(eg.check your blood pressure)" as it implies that the patient has to comply with you and has no choice in the matter. It's a big problem in healthcare.

The reason I am so strong on it is because I once had a suppository inserted without discussion or consent in a healthcare setting abroad and I would never want to make anyone feel the way I did in that moment.

Absolutely: but just turning up doesn’t mean consent: and it’s fair to say that manhandling someone’s naked boobs would anticipate a higher level of consent.

I had my first one recently at a private hospital. I don’t remember her asking permission to move my breasts into place but I agreed to the mammogram so obviously i knew roughly what was going to happen even though id never had one before. I think it’s a silly thing to be offended by, the lady was doing her job, the outcome could save poteinally save your life, that’s why you agreed to the procedure?

If your needs mean that next time you would like a chaperone to clearly explain each step and ask for permission every time they touch you then use that knowledge going forward and ask for one.

At the end of the day the mammogram is for your benefit and yours alone.

My god…I forgot on mn you need to put a ‘lighthearted’ disclaimer before you post anything. 🙄

i thought everyone knew they are uncomfortable - bit like saying you were shocked a smear test is an uncomfortable experience and you disliked being touched.

I agree, it is a way for the arseholes to talk down to someone and if they are called out on it they are all faux innocence that they were just giving advice. They most definitely mean to be rude when they do it.

I found my first mammogram quite unpleasant. Being told to strip to the waist, having to walk into a room like that, no small talk, boob grabbed and positioned, plus it's uncomfortable having them squeezed so hard by the machine. So I understand.

But I've had several now and it's always the same (at different places, with different people though all same NHS Trust I suppose). And I've rationalised it - they are just doing the job as efficiently as they can and have a long list of women coming after you. Once you know what to expect, it gets easier.

Tiny room, intimidating machine taking up most of it. that's just the way it goes. Why would they have a massive room if they didn't need it.

They shouldn't have touched you without asking though

They are busy and overworked, information is freely available on line, many people you know will have had this procedure and could have talked you through it. It's not a luxury beauty treatment but a necessity to help you. I don't like it, I don't know anyone who does, but I am beyond grateful that I have this screening organised for me.

I have Mammograms every 6 months, I complete and sign a sheet for each one - that is my consent for the radiographer to handle my breasts, I wouldn’t expect the radiographer to then ask for my consent each and every time she has to handle my breasts.

Mammograms are very intrusive, and leave you very vulnerable during the procedure along side being very uncomfortable.
It sounds like OP was not made aware of how the procedure was going to be performed and what to expect, so I can fully understand the OPs upset and it also sounds like the radiographer lacked ‘ bedside manner’ which is a pity as a bad experience can put women off having further screening.

And of course consent can be withdrawn, but up to the point the patient says ‘ no stop’ then consent to continue to manipulate the breast tissue into the machine is a given.

I had the same experience OP, I felt the rather grumpy technician manhandled me and shoved me into the machine without asking any kind of permission.
I felt like I was a cow in a milking parlour.
I don't have SEN and found it incredibly awful.
I'm a dust myself off and get on with life sort of person so didn't complain but it made me feel quite disgruntled all day.

Well the term should be renamed if people are using it in that way. How offensive to have what is for many of us the one area of life that's easy turned into yet another way in which we are perceived as inadequate.

I have a hidden disability listed above which I always flag before medical appointments.

Usually the health professional acknowledges this and then five minutes later forgets about it completely so that I have to ask for help again 😂

What happened at your appointment is what has happened at literally all my mammograms. I'm 70 and must have had over 30 - most of them privately, so it's not just an NHS thing.

If you have special needs you have to speak up.

I had this at my first mammogram too which was held in a breast screening trailer in an Asda carpark. The experience was awful I vowed that it would never happen again.

I live in Cornwall where there is a dedicated breast cancer screening centre and my second mammogram, which I had there, could not have been more different.

The radiographer explained every step of the process to me in a kindly and friendly way. She made sure that I was positioned correctly without being manhandled. It was a much better experience than the first.

I now make sure that all my mammograms are done there.

This is a really good point. I learned the hard way not to trust medical professionals who use the words discomfort or uncomfortable when they know full well that what they're about to do is PAINFUL. It's so patronising not to tell patients in advance and then just spring it on them instead.

What does special educational needs (SEN) mean?
The term SEN covers a wide range of needs. These include behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, speech, language and communication, hearing impairment, visual impairment, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability and autism.

www.coventry.gov.uk/coventrys-special-educational-needs-disability-send-local-offer/early-years-education-parents-carers-children-special-educational-needs-disabilities/3#:~:text=Stage%20Profile%20(EYFSP)-,What%20does%20special%20educational%20needs%20(SEN)%20mean%3F,impairment%2C%20physical%20disability%20and%20autism.

As I said above to someone else who said this: "Plenty of autistic people have no special educational needs. Lots of us find education/academic study far easier than the rest of life."

I have had several mammograms over the years the last one I had was horrendous the nurse was really rough with me horrible woman never ever experienced this before hope you're ok OP 🥹

I would urge you to reconsider, I have 2 friends who had BC picked up and easily treated because it was caught so early. One was on a trial mammogram for under 50s as they want to see if it's worth doing for younger women too ,clearly for her it was.

I just don’t think that’s correct. A good HCP would never assume consent. Especially in a first procedure as this was, where a patient might easily not know what would be involved. Consent can always be withdrawn at any point. Or damn well should be (with regrets to some on this thread who have found this not to be the case).

There is a significant lack of understanding around consent on this thread. If you don’t know what you’re talking about then stfu. Seriously.

I’ve met a few people in the medical profession who don’t have great bedside manners. I think it’s quite common (in my experience at least). However, the one that was the most brusque with me was also the one that spotted a problem that two other doctors hadn’t and fought for me to be admitted to hospital when another consultant considered it to not be necessary. She was absolutely right about my condition and without her, my life could have turned out very differently.

I’m sorry you had a negative experience OP but it’s an important procedure and I hope you continue to have them when offered. I’d probably leave feedback for the radiographer though.

I am sorry that you experienced this and I am surprised that people are saying you are being unreasonable. Well…I do think that you should have read up a bit more about what to expect. But the central point is that you were treated in a way that undermined your dignity and that is not acceptable. Nor was the failure to seek specific consent.

The idea that we are privileged to have this screening and that of itself should be enough is outdated. Maybe the person who did your mammogram also held such an antiquated view.

By way of contrast I took my DS (12) for an MRI this week. He was very nervous. More nervous than he had been for the major surgery he underwent last year for the same condition. He and I were treated with such patience and consideration I have written to the unit to thank them. I do not anticipate that his procedure took any longer for being undertaken with kindness and compassion.

I am sorry OP that you went for a routine procedure with confidence and were let down. I am also sorry that more people on here have not supported you.

I also venture that misogyny has a large part to play in the execution of screening that is (largely) directed at women, and the way in which any protest from those subject women about their treatment is perceived.

A lot of people here seem to expect OP to have had prior knowledge of the experience although it was her first time. Why should she know what would happen? If you read the NHS literature about it you get the impression that it will be far more gentle than it actually is. But this is common with all medical information: pain is 'discomfort' etc.

It's an unpleasant procedure, OP, and the operator's brusqueness made it worse & shouldn't happen. Often the only thing that makes such a procedure bearable is the kindness of those around you. So complain about your experience.