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.

But nobody would be forcing anybody to have a man. Do stop with the scaremongering.

I don't even know if this is a serious proposal anway.

Someone in a society for radiographers seems to have suggested it. I doubt it will progress, they'll be too many objections from both patients and other hcps.

I think most women, if they found a lump wouldn't care who did the mammogram.
I equally think many women, if they just went for a screening may put it off if a male is going to do it.
I'm pretty robust but am very sensitive about the size of my comedy chest and have had a lifetime of misogynistic comments about it. I can't just switch that off.

I've always asked for female clinicians - throughout infertility investigations, IVF treatment and (I was one of the lucky ones) pregnancy and maternity care and childbirth, and more recently when I had a 2 week pathway referral to the breast clinic. My local NHS Trust has so far has always been able to support the request. A fabulous team of female clinicians made my pregnancy possible and got my baby here safely, while supporting my mental health with regard to my history and PTSD, and I am forever grateful. The staff were supportive at the breast clinic as well, understanding the request without asking any questions, and on the day giving me extra time and empathetic care (and there were no male staff in clinic that day anyway). But I'm very conscious that seeing a female clinician isn't a right, I can only ask (which isn't easy in itself) and it's always an anxiety whether it will be possible in practice on the day.
The right to choose not to have necessary tests or treatment if you don't want a male clinician, is a bit of a rock and a hard place choice.

In screening services (as opposed to diagnosis and treatment when people are symptomatic), there are already problems with take-up, so adding an extra barrier (having to ask for a female clinician and worrying whether your request will be met) for the not insignificant number of women who won't want a man doing their mammogram for whatever reason, seems counter-productive.

But the more male radiographers are trained to do this, the more likely women will be faced with a male & not have the option of a female.

Once again women who, forever whatever reason, don't want a man performing an intimate procedure, lose out because in order to deal with a problem within the NHS they're going for the easy option of 'plugging the gap' with men.

The woman talking about it yesterday on the news as a positive thing really shocked me tbh - i don't care that men might love the opportunity to do mammograms, as she thinks, i care that as many women as possible take up the option of having one. I can't see how having men doing the procedure will improve that.

If you look at the reports on how many women attend follow up appointments for further investigations, it’s very low. Many women who find a lump don’t even go to their GP.
We should be removing all possible barriers to ensure women have the best possible healthcare they need. At my local breast cancer unit, the overwhelming majority of staff are female.

Currently going through treatment for breast cancer and my surgeon, oncologist and radiologist have all been male. There is always another member of female staff in the room though and I wonder if this would be the case with mammograms - my recollection is that the ones in the hospital have always had two people present but the routine ones in the mobile unit have only had the one member of staff.

I must admit I was surprised when I saw this in the news yesterday and it doesn’t really make sense considering that other professionals in the sphere are male but I think where there is just one member of staff in the room that they probably ought to be female, especially when this is for the initial routine appointment that so many women dread. I think by the time a concern is raised and you are in the specialist unit in hospital, you are just grateful you are being treated, but also there is always a second female member of staff from that point onwards.

NHS choice really isn't a choice - it's like apply for school places in England and Wales it's a preference.

This has been pointed out by another poster several times even quoting NHS web pages that state this.

Last 20 years I've had some pretty poor experinces with the NHS so I've been left very cycnical.

I'm not sure why I'm engaging with you TBH - someone trying to insist a procdure they have no experince with is going to be excatly like they imaged probably isn't capable of taking on other view points and basic reality.

Choice is an illusion when resources are scare and this is the charities area of expertise - so I assume they have some insight into the field. If they are worried about this - frankly they have more experience than me or you or our respective mums - it should and likely will be considered.

I'm not scaremongering I'm expressing a real concern being at an age when this is very likely to affect me in the very near future.

I'm a bit annoyed my conerns are being dismissed by a poster with zero insight and when challenged cites what their mummy says as some sort of insight.

It's not 'scaremongering' it's the physical description of what happens in a mammogram, which you'd know if you ever had one. Oh that's right you were caught out lying about having one because what you described is not at all what happens in a mammogram.

Call me a cynic if you like, but I’m very suspicious of the claim that allowing men to perform mammograms is in order to address staffing issues. I know the NHS generally is experiencing staffing and retention problems but is the service – which I believe is staffed 70% by women - now suddenly awash with male radiographers who are underemployed? Are there no male-only or less intrusive interventions that they could be performing? Or is it perhaps that radiography is a highly paid, high-status job that attracts more men than women? If so, let’s get more women into it.

Sorry, but I can’t help but feel that this proposal is an attempt to break down yet more barriers to women having female-only spaces and service provision. And, as an aside, once men are providing the service there’ll then be no reason to disallow men in waiting rooms with women in flapping hospital gowns.

It’s the breasts squished between a surface and a plastic type see through plate twice per breast. It’s quick. No hugging involved. You are in a queue so it’s done quickly. The breast is placed in the right way. It’s not invasive as it’s an outside of the body test. The breast is touched by a gloved hand to get it in the right position. I have found it routine and fine. I’m more concerned about the results than if it’s a male or female person doing the test.

It’s quick. No hugging involved. You are in a queue so it’s done quickly.

Your experience differs from many of us on here.

In what way?

That's not my experience. It's routine, in that it happens regularly and you get over it, but it's a thoroughly unpleasant experience, as much becuase it hurts as becuase of the intimate touching!

That’s right-it’s a proposal at a delegates’ conference. I think it’s already been passed as a motion at another union conference a couple of years ago if my memory serves me right but have heard nothing since. Unions propose all sorts of things that never happen. Like I’ve said before on this thread, the way to go imo is more female assistant practitioners-the last couple of adverts we put out had lots of good applicants. They take a year to train to do straightforward mammograms and work under the supervision of a mammographer. Win win as there is no need to employ an additional chaperone. The ones we employ are very good-as you’d expect, they become expert because they are doing standard mammograms day in, day out. Mammographers who are radiographers will always do the more complex mammograms and procedures and have also taken on some of the role traditionally performed by radiologists.

I’ve not experienced pain just that it feels uncomfortable. Each breast is manipulated twice but with a gloved hand and it’s to get it in place. The nipples aren’t touched it’s the underneath and then getting the sides in place. Literally two touches and then the plate is placed. I have no problem with this. I can see on this thread how horrifying it is for others.

But women still need to have the choice.

Of course. I don’t care who does the test as it’s the results that bother me the most. I’d be happy to have a male medical professional do the test. This would make space for women who need a woman medical professional.

Well my experience is that it took several attemtps and lots of pulling to get them in place. Perhaps it depends on breast size?

I can't help feeling there'd be a better way if men had to have these checks.

It would be good if there was a better way. It’s obviously an individual experience. I’ve not been hugged or had any problem getting breasts in place. I just let them get on with it. It’s quick in my experience and it’s about getting people through the test asap.

If only it was only touched twice to get it in place. Several attempts per breast is my experience.

well yes this absolutely but also you have to ask who wants to increase mammogram uptake? .....not who thinks it is a good thing for women to have the option of mammograms but the old question "cui bono" and I think its probably the NHS/government, also, to a degree, mammographers radiologists and the equipment makers because it keeps them in business/employment. If the interested parties want to improve uptake of ANYTHING then offering something that the people involved won't accept, is not the way to do it.

Not my experience. Perhaps having a larger cup size is key? Or the experience of the medical practitioner? I’ve had a few mammograms and never a problem.

The issue with 'extra choice' is how to schedule it, @ButterCrackers. When I go for my mammogram (in Morrison's car park) there is one receptionist and one mammogram tech - so do they have a whole day where all the appointments are with a male tech, and let the women attending know in their appointment letter that it will be a male tech, or do they let them find out when they turn up? And what happens to the women who do not want a male tech manhandling their boobs into place (either cancelling when they get the letter or refusing on the day, if they are just turning up and finding it's a male tech) - do they get sent to the back of the queue for an appointment?

There aren't enough techs at the moment, so there won't be enough techs to have a female one hanging around in case a woman refuses the male tech.

Plus there is the issue of the extra cost of having a chaperone there. The receptionist needs to be at the door, letting people in and sending them to get changed, so they can't do the chaperoning as well, so it means another member of staff - extra cost for the NHS.

I have extremely large breasts (G size), so not sure about that.

It's also about standing, how you position yourself, your arms and shoulders etc. I'm also a shortarse so there's that.