To think if men had to have mammograms...

I did read that it depends on the level of skill if the operator. I've found them painful and pain free so I do feel there's something in that.

I get a bit panicky as it gets more and more painful, I start to think it's not going to stop getting tighter. Frigging awful things.

I bruised after my last mammogram - I needed painkillers for a few days.

the nurse was quite rough pulling me around and grumpy with me and I got very squished. I said the machine was set too high for me as I was being stretched in all directions.

I’m a bit bigger so I do appreciate it’s harder to get good images. There was an “atmosphere “ in the unit (one of those parked by a supermarket) so I think they were all in a bad mood. Hope you feel more comfortable soon OP.

The first one I had was unexpectedly extremely painful. They were already swollen and painful and were basically slapped around and squashed. I had very bad bruising on one breast afterwards.

Second was completely different. Gentle, considerate, and not at all,painful.

It's all worth it if it catches something quickly though, however clumsy they are.

The lovely nurse who did my last one told me that the level of discomfort is affected quite a lot by your size and shape. If your boobs are “small but dense”, which mine are, it can be extremely painful because they have to be stretched and squished so much to get a decent quality image. She was so kind to me. It was only my second one and I told her I almost didn’t go because the first was so horribly painful it made me cry. She was really gentle, moved the machine about a millimetre at a time and checked in constantly that I was ok. It was a million times better than the first time.

On the flip side, my husband complains that every time he has a medical checkup he gets a finger up his bum, and that has never been to me at all.

In fairness men have things up their penis and anus for prostate investigations which isn't really better.

Some men do have to have mammograms though don’t they. I suspect if women had to have trans-rectal prostate biopsies done there’d be a lot more noise about it but the men just seem to get on with it and the average MN’er remains oblivious to some of the pretty crappy procedures they go through. Women don’t have an absolute monopoly on miserable medical interventions! There also really isn’t anything stopping women coming up with new technologies rather than just complaining about the ones we have.

That is a fair point.

What's it got to do with men, sorry? You think that women should just rely on men to make all of our medical instruments for us, then complain if we don't like what they come up with? I suppose the answer is for us to make them ourselves then...

They would 100% have found a better, less stressful/painful way if men had to have them.

Mine was agony last time - the machine seemed too high for me. The nurse was very grumpy about my reaction but did say afterwards 'maybe it's so sore because you still get periods'. I'd pay for something less painful.

That's absolutely brilliant that your cancer was caught by a routine mammogram. I agree that, discomfort and pain aside, they are a fantastic resource and we are lucky to have that choice. I hope all is going well for you

Agree with the discomfort but a huge shout out for mammograms. It’s caught my cancer before it went to my nodes - currently recovering from surgery before chemo.

I had the “it’s optional you don’t have to come but are encouraged “‘invite. So glad I went. If I hadn’t , things would have been a lot worse as there was no lump to feel so I wouldn’t have been picked up for longer.

also a suggestion to you lovely people to lift arms up and look with a sight from the side - if there’s a dimple or a dent get it checked asap.

I would say I find it uncomfortable rather than painful, but I do find the whole process very challenging, both physically and mentally. I'm really bad with verbal instructions for some reason. They seem perfectly reasonable when they are being explained but then they get mangled by my brain and I get all uncoordinated and flustered😬 And the women who have done the mammograms have been a bit lacking in understanding or patience. I guess they're under pressure to get me out and the next one in.

@spikeandbuffy the first link states that the machine is used 'in conjunction with' a mammogram, so you would have to have a mammogram as well? Not sure how that solves the issue of not liking mammograms, really.

Men might actually ask more questions re the risks of screening, and whether it is worth doing..... just a thought.

One of the reasons it’s not is to do with the density of breast tissue changing (usually as we age) and managing to get a good image.

Here. Detects more cancers and more specifically

www.mlive.com/public-interest/2022/10/new-michigan-technology-better-detects-cancer-in-women-with-dense-breast-tissue.html

eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2015/09/20/mammogram-alternative/72544716/

Totally with you on this. Am a D cup and find mammograms more uncomfortable than smear tests.

I saw a new machine one... will see if I can find it

YANBU. I haven't been called yet but I'm frightened as I've heard awful things and have a very low pain threshold. My mum now goes regularly but she has friends who've had their lives saved by mammograms which is what has convinced her - and me. She gets very anxious before hand still and I think her nerves have affected me tbh. It's obviously a terrific, needed service but given the attention given to womens health issues and pain management vs mens, I'm not surprised no one had cared enough to put a kinder method on general roll out tbh.

My aunt never bothered getting mammograms as she reckoned the machines were so bad for your boobs.

I think Boob sensitivity varies a lot. The thought of them being squeezed makes me want to cry. It would really hurt.

I’m annual. And big chested. Mine have always varied in comfort depending on who has done them, but I’ve never found them painful, just uncomfortable at most. The easiest one was done by a woman who mentioned that she trained others in how to do them; that one was a breeze. I think it’s different for everyone. My mum was very small chested and found them really, really painful.

Honestly and I’m not remotely decrying anyone else’s experience here, they don’t hurt me at all. In fact I barely feel a thing, just a slight squeezing. It’s always puzzled me why people say they hurt. I’ve been to several different places for them too, so it’s not like we have particularly gentle staff here.

I’ve had the machine that moves around you. It’s better, but still hurts. My next one is going to be an ultrasound with a wand, apparently they are better at seeing through dense tissue. I don’t know why all mammograms aren’t ultrasounds?