To think if men had to have mammograms...

That doesn’t sound fun at all, mine was about 20 minutes I think. I wonder what causes the time variation, I have another soon and am curious!

I totally agree op.
I would say I have a high pain threshold, one of my DC's was born without pain relief, have had mirena coils put in and taken out but was totally shocked how sore my first mammogram was.
I went waltzing in, expecting it to be a bit uncomfortable but was in actual shock when I walked out, I was in a daze and even now can remember the pain vividly.
It won't stop me getting them but having spoke to my friends about them each one of us were shocked by the pain

I recently asked this at my mammogram and the radiographer said they get 5 mins per patient and this was the quickest and cheapest way to service the large numbers of people they have to check.
it is very uncomfortable / border painful but the gain is worth the pain I think. It’s so worthwhile.

I lost my DF to breast cancer. He was never expected to tolerate a mammogram.

You do know that there are some breast cancers which you would never find yourself because they don’t present as lumps ? Without mammogram you wouldn’t know you had these types of breast cancer until it was likely too late to do anything about it. Most breast cancers are very treatable and curable if caught at an early stage. I really don’t understand why you wouldn’t have the mammogram when you consider what you would go through otherwise.

Yes, I remember the mammogram after I was diagnosed! It was one of the most undignified procedures I've ever had to go through, but I kept being told off because I couldn't stop laughing at the bizarre position yoh have to be in.

I had an MRI after a mammogram diagnosed a breast cancer. Sorry, but it was way worse than the mammogram. An hour and a half inside the machine on my stomach with my tits suspended in two buckets and having to keep perfectly still for each stage of the exam. I’ll take a mammogram every time thanks. And after a repeat mammogram I had extensive biopsies taken using ultrasound guidance. I wasn’t anaesthetised but the doctor made sure I was adequately numbed before the procedure started. It’s scary but not painful if you relax and be guided by the doctor.

@Rosscameasdoody Yes it saved my life too. I had a recall from my second mammogram when I was 53, and I had two very small tumours which were very deep. It would have been a long time before I could have felt them, by which time my prognosis would have been so much worse. I will always be thankful to the screening programme, no matter how uncomfortable mammograms are.

aint doing one , period

Agreed that it’s far more complex than the simplistic tropes hence my response referring to both the underrepresentation in STEM and the issues with women and girl’s visibility within big data, for example.

A mammogram saved my life in April of this year, so I have a different point of view. It could be made more comfortable, but there are some cancers that won’t show up on the mammogram without the pressure that’s so uncomfortable. Mine was one of them. Depends on whether you want a few minutes of discomfort or to miss something that could kill you.

I had a bossy aggressive person last time who both hurt me and told me off for moving like I was a naughty toddler. I didn’t move, I simply couldn’t hold the position she’d shoved me into because she didn’t do her job properly

There’s a lot of controversy about mammograms amongst doctors and scientists. I’m not saying they are good or bad, I just think women should be aware and do their research (don’t jump on me)

Had my first mammogram two years ago and got extremely nauseous and faint. Cold sweat. I knew I was going to faint, so sat down, drank some water and tried again. Nope. I had to sit in a special chair. What was really weird was that I didn’t find it painful at all.
Had another one a few months ago, zero issues. I think it comes down to the technician.

It's a well worn trope on this site that "if men suffered from (insert medical condition here), they'd have cured it by now!"

Completely ignoring the appalling rates of death from "male" diseases like prostate and testicular cancer.

Utter nonsense.

I have found it difficult due to being so short and having to stand on tiptoe whilst it is done. Plus big boobs- not a good mix.

I doubt we’re ‘waiting’ but I’m sure you’re aware that there are complex reasons for women being underrepresented in stem jobs. That’s aside from the medical industry being skewed towards males. In fact, most of the world being skewed towards males. Invisible women by Caroline Criado Perez is a very interesting read.

I was really scared about having my first one because I’ve heard bad stories and have sensitive breasts, but actually it was just mildly uncomfortable in a squeezing way. But, I can well believe that they’re painful for other people because I really struggle with smear tests when I’ve heard lots of other people say they just find them slightly uncomfortable. So, I completely get how it can be a totally different experience for different people.

I was appalled the first time I had one. For some reason, I was expected some sort of moulded plastic cup system which I leant into rather than the sonographer grabbing what seemed to be the fat from my back and trying to shove it along with my boobs between two cold, metal plates and squeezing hard.
I don't know what happens if you have testicular cancer but, if men needed annual checks, I imagine a different system would have been designed.
I am glad that more attention is being paid to men always being the default model in healthcare but I am also infuriated by it

Who's "somebody"? Can a woman not invent a better way of doing a mammogram or are we waiting on a man to invent it?

I live in south London. My breast cancer treatment and reconstruction was all done in the NHS at a major teaching hospital and I couldn't possibly have been treated better or had more skilled surgeons no matter how much I paid. When my five years of annual mammograms ended I spoke to my breast surgeon, who agreed that he didn't think three yearly is often enough if you've had a problem, and I self referred to a local private hospital. As it turned out, the breast surgeon I see is now the clinical lead for the breast department at my local NHS hospital. I've discussed the radiation risk with him and he is adamant that he recommends annual mammograms for all of his patients in his private practice. I had various investigations earlier this year which included another mammogram, just six months after my annual one, and the hospital weren't concerned but just suggested that I postpone my private annual check by six months to give a year inbetween mammograms.

I'm an E cup and I've had 3 mammograms over the last 10 years. I can honestly say that although they were a bit uncomfortable,they weren't painful. And this is with one frozen shoulder and arthritis in both shoulders. If you tell them beforehand of any issues like this,I find they do their utmost to make it more comfortable for you.

Brutal is the right word for how I feel about mammograms. Very painful, I need to book mine in and am very anxious.

Last one the nurse was grumpy. Lots of huffing and puffing with eye rolls. I said after my first one, this was not uncomfortable as in the directions. That was painful.

I will mention again how painful I have found them. I will complain if I am bruised again.

But, FFS you would think the bloody machine could drop to a level where a five footer wasn’t teetering on tiptoe (on one leg) to get it all onto the plate! There are women shorter than me - how are they managing?

I'm shorter than you & it comes down to my level.

I'm in Germany but always assumed that the mobile equipment would be pretty standard.