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.

It wouldn't bother me at all. I have had gynaecology appointments with female and male consultants, the female was quite rough and brusque with me, the male was much nicer, and gentler.

How are they going to make this choice avavilble? I’ve been given appointments for gynaecologists who are men and I don’t know until I arrive. Me suddenly deciding on the day I don’t want to see a man is going to make it a pain to schedule. It’s made me super uncomfortable but I feel like if I say something, it is going to cause a problem.

There’s also the issue of people being sick/unavailable on the day. So even if you book to see a woman, you might not get to see them if they aren’t in and only a male is on call.

I didn't even realise there weren't men doing mammograms. I didn't occur to me. I recently went for investigation for breast lumps. The consultant I saw was male. He did an initial check of my breasts. I had a mammogram and then had an ultrasound, also carried out by a male.
I have also given birth (to premature twins) and the lead Dr that delivered my babies was male. Also present in the room were about 3 other male physicians, a female Dr, a female midwife and a female student midwife.
Given that in both scenarios I wanted the best outcome for my health, and that of my babies, I couldn't give two hoots if the care giver was male or female.

Hi I agree we already have men doing intimate checks on us already. but do you think it’s because there are handling the breasts putting you in a certain position.
I’ve had a few and each time it’s been a man doing the examination but they are quite quick. Maybe as other people have said as long as you are told and have a female chaperone I would choices though. especially for women who have been sexually assaulted or raped. Some women cannot bear the thought of a man touching them so there would have to be some sort of way of not making a woman suffer.

The management should start supporting their staff, not trying to throw them under the bus for the sake of an ideology.

Having a mum who died of breast cancer I could'nt care less who gave me possibly life saving tests!

I've had male doctors do smears and a loop diathermy.......I'm not a huge fan but would rather that than wait a long time, especially if I'm worried 💖🌈

I’ve always chosen to see male gynaecologists (not in UK but a country where visits twice a year are pretty standard). So totally fine. After all, it’s their job and they are professionals - I always feel (probably wrongly so!) that female doctors are more judgmental.

There are women who'll rather die than being seen by a man. Be it cultural or religious reasons.

I found a lump on my breast during lock down and saw 3 male Dr's. I honestly couldn't give a toss. If there's a risk to me being here for my children, I will see anyone to get the treatment needed!

Make whatever excuses you like, it is illogical, but if that is the choice someone makes, at least it is them that takes a risk with the direct consequences rather than anyone else.

I find mammograms quite uncomfortable and intrusive. I'd def prefer a woman. And as a poor second, I'd prefer a respectful man to a man who thinks he's entitled to be treated as though he is a woman. I think we need to start from the perspective that women should be able to choose whether their breasts are handled by men or not. So then what follows is that we should ensure we are training enough women to do the job.

I always call this test ‘a squash and a squeeze’; I felt so uncomfortable the first time, but I now joke about it - a way of coping.
I now try to prepare my teenage daughter for it in the future. I have four of these test. They are now more normal for me. I don’t want a man doing this to me, but I could now cope with it. I have never had an issue getting an appointment. I would prefer a woman to carry out this test.

What excuses?

Obviously it's their choice, didn't say otherwise.

I’ve just had breast cancer. Detected by a mammogram. Thank goodness. Wouldn’t care who did it, I am just really glad they did and they found it in time. Absolutely no issue with it not being a woman. There are loads of medical things done by professionals - whether they have a willy or not is completely irrelevant!

No just no! I dont want my boobs manhandled, squashed and repositioned on the X-ray slabs by a bloke. It's an incredibly fiddly , close, intimate procedure much better performed promptly and dispassionately by women. I too have it done in a mobile Xray unit in a hospitalcar park by very proficient women operators.

But why does it require a radiographer to do it? They have only to be adept at ensuring the correct photographic outcome, They don't read the results.
The analysis and reporting is done elsewhere.

Much like taking of bloods, anyone could be specifically and easily trained to do just mammography which would mitigate the shortages of trained radiographers and reduce costs.

@askmenow a radiographer needs to do it because the exam involves ionising radiation and an understanding of risk, exposure, how to change exposure for different imaging and an academic understanding of the equipment used. Yes, radiographers do all sorts of imaging-that’s basically their job to ensure a diagnostic image. And radiographers are involved in assessing images, doing biopsies-things traditionally only done by radiologists.

What has been successful is the year’s training non radiographers undertake to become assistant practitioners. They work under supervision with a radiographer and do the straightforward mammograms. Their practice is limited, so radiographers do the more complex patients, decide whether to repeat images and perform the radiography associated with other procedures such as biopsies, wires and magseeds.

I wouldn't have a problem with a man performing a mammogram as long as he was trained and competent. I would see issues with employing a male in this role though and they would need a chaperone whereas female staff don't.

Sorry but at best this is ignorant of what a radiographer actually is and at worst it’s idiotic.

Do you realise the level of qualification you need to be a radiographer ? You need to complete an approved degree or postgraduate qualification in radiography, which is a 3-4 year full-time degree which includes practical placements, involves medical knowledge, patient care, and the comprehensive understanding and use of technical imaging equipment. And you think that’s comparable to a nurse being trained to take bloods ?

So, just for clarity, what you’re saying is that you want to massively downgrade the level of expertise currently offered to women and compromise safety by using unqualified staff in an area of medicine which uses ionising radiation ? Simply to prevent properly qualified and experienced male radiographers from carrying out mammograms ? I’d rather have a male mammographer any day, and l would think that any woman would, given that particular choice.

So if you had a cancer diagnosis following a mammogram, would you also be against a male surgeon handling your breasts, or is it just male mammographers you object to ? What if a female surgeon wasn’t available, would you be prepared to delay knowing you had cancer ? As a breast cancer survivor l can assure you that subsequent numerous examinations, testing, imaging procedures, preparing for surgery etc, involves a LOT more handling of the breasts than a mammogram and I think we’re losing sight of the single most important issue here. Breast cancer is a killer. And the prompt screening, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, ensures the best prospect of long term survival. From what l’m reading here, for many women that seems to come secondary to issues with male staff.

I think the insinuation that male radiographers would put themselves through an intensive four year degree, plus the subsequent training, taking on student debt in the process, just so they can spend their days grabbing womens’ breasts is both ridiculous and offensive to the HCP’s involved.

This. Once you’ve sat down opposite a doctor telling you you have cancer, your whole perspective changes and the focus shifts to the best way to treat and cure. Unless it’s lived experience, l don’t think people can appreciate how terrifying it is to be told you have a tumour you wouldn’t even have known was there if not for the mammogram.

I’m quite surprised by the level of sexism here too. Wondering how a similar discussion of the appropriateness of female HCPs to some ‘intimate’ male healthcare procedures would go.

On the contrary, I think we all want to see the maximum number of women having potentially life-saving screening. But this isn't a symptomatic population, you have to get people over the doorstep. Therefore it's important to remove as many barriers as possible, looking at the cohort as a whole.

GA isn’t offered for vasectomy unless there’s a medical reason - simple fear of the procedure is not a valid reason because of the risk a GA poses, as opposed to a local. I’ve known two men who’ve had vasectomies. In each case a GA was necessary because complications were anticipated. In each case they waited longer because of the preparation needed - pre op assessment, a bed in a day ward and the involvement of a anaesthetist. As l said before, this is not specifically female issue.

A male mammographer wouldn’t necessarily be a barrier as long as there is a choice. But l think women have to accept that you can’t force healthcare professionals to specialise in any one area. So if female staff shortages persist, there will be an expectation of delay if you specify a female mammographer. From the responses here l suspect that many women would opt for a male mammographer rather than wait, so perhaps this would mitigate the waiting times and free up more female staff.

I can appreciate it to a degree - high grade DCIS in two areas of my right breast for which the only option was full mastectomy. Female breast surgeon but male plastic surgeon for reconstruction. 100% saved my life.

My annual mammogram is in a few weeks and I still wouldn't want a man carrying it out.