To think if men had to have mammograms...

[YourSpleenIsDamp]

... somebody would have invented a better way to do it? Still bruised three days later - chest and boobs - and holding poses while they get the right angle has set my arthritic shoulder off. I feel bad complaining about it, because obviously I'm grateful for the screening, but my god the soreness. It's brutal. Currently on yearly screening, looking forward to only needing it every three years when I turn 50. Maybe it's less awful without F cups? But my mum is an A cup and she finds it horrendous too! Any advice for making it more bearable?

Really important to remember that men can get breast cancer too. Great post 👏🏻

Like everyone else I’m grateful to get them. Like @Whothefuckdoesthat my experience with getting my (too big) boobs fully scanned has depended on who the technician was. 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? Think I’m taking my own thick encyclopaedia to stand on next time!

You’re lucky. It does hurt some women, a lot. It’s like women claiming that cervical screening doesn’t hurt, because it doesn’t hurt them - but it is most certainly painful for some. I don’t know why you’re puzzled by this. People’s anatomy and sensitivity f different body parts varies greatly.

But men do have the need for mammograms if they find a lump. Male breast cancer is very real.

Same here. I've has to have several mammograms in my 40s due to suspicious lumps which always turn out to be cysts. The ultrasound always reveals dozens of cysts of varying sizes. Because of the cysts and generally suffering with breast tenderness, the mammogram is absolutely excruciating. It's made me cry on more than one occasion. I wish there was a better way.

I have them yearly after having breast cancer and the breast where I had my lumpectomy is very painful when I have a mammogram on it. It's awful but soon over.

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.

I'm on yearly screening because of higher risk family history. I think people without those risk factors get one every three years from age 50-71 - I think the NHS invite you for your first some time after you turn fifty (England here, don't know about other countries).

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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)

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

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.

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.

aint doing one , period

@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.

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.