To think that having a mammogram carried out by a man is preferable to a long wait for an appointment.

[JudithOnHolidayAgain]

I know many people who wouldn't be here now without early detection of breast cancer due to the screening programme.
I have had a few myself.
It's not something I look forward to but it's a few minutes of discomfort that could save my life so I put up with it.
Given the choice I would prefer a woman carry it out as it is quite intrusive but as there is a shortage of female staff I would be ok with a male member of staff as long as there was a chaperone and Iwas told in advance.
If they do change the rules I think there should be a choice.

On the contrary, if you read the posts, most on the thread are not okay with it being a man.

I think you'll find it's the trans supporters (who think we have no need for single sex toilets) that are the ones being nasty about women needing a male mammographer.

Just wait until you have a mammogram. THEN you'll get it and see what we're saying.

Those same posters are the same ones who have no problems with males in female toilets.

I’ve had several - four in the last fourteen months due to a BC diagnosis which was only discovered via a routine mammogram. I don’t see the problem. They’re uncomfortable. No-one likes having them, but for women they’re a necessary part of life if we want as early a diagnosis as possible, giving the best chance of long term survival. I would say just wait until you have a mammogram that discovers a tumour you didn’t even know was there. Whole different ballgame. Couldn’t care less what sex any of the health care professionals are - it’s the early diagnosis and effective treatment that counts here. And unfortunately you don’t realise that until you’re in that position. Because until that point cancer is something that happens to other people. Until it happens to you.

It wouldn’t bother me at all. There are lots of men involved in gynaecology and other areas of womens’ health.

l think the main issue would be that some women would not come forward to be checked if they could not opt out from being tested by a man.

No, some of the posters here have had a cancer diagnosis as a result of a routine mammogram. Including myself. So it’s a different perspective, because when you realise that you have a large and potentially deadly tumour you didn’t even know was there, it changes you and puts things into sharp focus.

And for the record I’m utterly opposed to males in any female only spaces. But for me, that doesn’t include a clinical setting. But l appreciate that that’s because l have never had reason to think otherwise.

Nope. No correlation between the two for me, but l was wondering when someone would make the leap.

I’ve had several including with a trainee. Nothing to worry about so don’t try to put women off having them.

No most are ok with it and 62% have voted accordingly. Women should be given a choice and a minority shouldn’t be gate keeping life saving procedures from the many who’d rather have a man than wait.

Neither is punishment. There are problems with filling the vacancies for mammography. Filling them with male radiographers will hopefully give women the choice of a quicker screening if they choose to have it done by a man. Those who don’t mind, will free up more female radiographers for those who do. It’s not rocket science, and providing women have the choice and understand the implications if they want to wait for a female, l don’t see a problem. You can’t force women to take up more of these jobs, so what solution would you offer ?

I ended up with two cancelled routine mammograms because of staffing problems. I waited ten weeks for the appointment which discovered a very large tumour l didn’t know was there. Had the cancer been a more aggressive type that delay could well have resulted in a later stage diagnosis, much more aggressive treatment and possibly impacted survival time, and l’ve no doubt that that is the case for some. I think we’re losing sight of what’s most important here.

And there’s a reason we wait longer for a hysteroscopy, or any other procedure in which we opt for a GA rather than a local. There is much more risk to a GA. It requires more prep, more after care to ensure optimum safety and the time and expertise of an anaesthetist. So you wait longer because the NHS can’t simply wave a magic wand and produce these things. And it not an exclusively female problem.

You’re actively putting women off having a potentially life saving procedure and drawing ridiculous comparisons with trans issues. To suggest that it’s only women who support trans women in female spaces who support the idea of male mammographers is infantile and offensive. Especially as many women here are commenting from the perspective of having had a cancer diagnosis as a result of routine screening. The voting reflects that most women here would be OK with it, so basically you’re advocating the gate keeping of what would be the choice of the majority. The only thing l can tell you is that if you end up with a cancer diagnosis as a result of a mammogram, your perspective will change because your priority will shift onto the best course of action to save your life.

Unless a mammogram secretly also includes a full cavity search then no I don’t think I will change my mind. I get what it involves and that it involves touching, manipulating and pushing of the breasts to get an x ray. I am still happy for a man to do it. Genuinely. And that means that if you are not, there should be more appointments with female radiographers because I can be seen by a man instead.

This! Your priority also changes when you’ve had friends, family and colleagues fight the disease or die from it which as you get older happens in shockingly increased numbers.

Experts are trying to save lives by proposing this and for those who put their health as a priority it absolutely should be given as an option.

Yeah agree. It’s spectacularly unhelpful to tell women how awful and traumatic mammograms are. If I was so minded, I could make the same claim about smear tests but I know they are quick and painless for most women and I’d definitely not want to put anyone off. I have had coil fittings and that is painful and invasive (way more so than a mammogram imo given that you are lying with your legs splayed with someone’s hand up your vagina for 5 minutes) but if someone was asking me about it I would say it hurts briefly but it’s then over and it’s 100% manageable and worth it. Telling people they will be screaming in pain, crying, humiliated and degraded during procedures is so unhelpful.

'Yeah agree. It’s spectacularly unhelpful to tell women how awful and traumatic mammograms are. If I was so minded, I could make the same claim about smear tests but I know they are quick and painless for most women and I’d definitely not want to put anyone off'

I don't believe anyone had did they are traumatic rather they are faffy, very uncomfortable and you are up close with the hcp face to face, close bodily contact for a good 10 mins at least . It isn't a situation you'd want with a man.

Smears are very quick and ive never had anyone in close bodily contact with me. A speculum is inserted, that is it.

Men should not do mammograms. I would question why any would want to specialise is this area of radiography tbh.

Doesn’t happen in mine. I’m given good instructions re leaning etc, position boob myself under instruction and I’m given verbal instructions as to how to stand, lean and position arm with radiographer standing elsewhere whilst the pics are taken. You stand in position on your own.She nips back and forth to direct and explain things. Last time I had somebody being trained which I agreed to and it was heavily monitored. It was the same. Have never felt my space invaded at all and I have autism( which they don’t know about) alongside a fear of hospitals and hate space invading. It is slightly uncomfortable re standing in position for a couple of minutes but not painful. Top and bra are right by the machine for easy access.

There's no shortage of females wanting to be mammographers. There is a shortage of radiographers. It's a different thing, there's no shortage in mammography. No difference in waiting times will be noticed.

So take that argument away, and what do we have? Why do males want to take over this female space?

It does seem baffling that lots of people can’t grasp that many women still wouldn’t mind it being performed by a man. I know it involves close contact - I still wouldn’t mind. I can understand why someone would want a woman to do it but it seems that the understanding doesn’t extend the other way. Instead it’s all “just you wait til you have one”. As if people don’t have their own minds and can’t decide what they would be comfortable with.

But what that poster described isn’t accurate. It’s scaremongering.

I don’t understand why it’s worse than a male doing a pelvic scan (it’s not )

I’ve had breast cancer and my surgeon was male. I had my top off and examined by all sorts of people during this time! Not an issue at all. It’s a ridiculous debate.

I’ve had yearly mammograms for 15 years. I’ve also had pelvic exams (done by men). Both involve being touched of course. It’s not that pleasant for each but the mammogram is definitely the least uncomfortable.

It’s a bit mad that this is the only procedure that is still only done by women when it’s really one of the most functional compared to all the crap that happens during pregnancy, for eg!

That is reassuring and I believe you. While I have not had one done I have seen one being performed and I know people who have had them. The description on here from some seems wildly exaggerated.

So why did l have a routine mammogram cancelled twice because of staff shortages ?

I’ve just read back through the thread!

mammograms can be unpleasant but not as bad as smears (I no longer have these as they are too painful for me now ).

They are certainly not ‘intimate’, someone pushing your flesh under a clamp is not intimate. It’s functional. It’s also over very quickly. I’ve had so many I actually find them tedious and don’t even think twice. And I am a total wuss. No hard ass here!

I’m seeing a male GP soon for a weird mole just above my bum and I’m more weirded about that than I would be a male doing a mammogram!

The point is that there is a shortage of female mammographers. What would be your solution, given that you can’t force someone to specialise in a particular area if they don’t want to ? If a male radiographer is willing to, and the patient has a choice, then l don’t see a problem. You can’t gatekeep choice for others based on what you want yourself.