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.

At last, some experience based common sense. There are some seriously concerning posts on this thread considering the subject matter. And the sheer ignorance of some posters as to what it takes to be a radiographer is astonishing.

I was amazed this wasn't allowed already. I think it's the only procedure that only one sex can carry out which is just bizarre. I'd have no problem having a man carry out a mammogram for me. Of course women should have the right to refuse a male doctor, but to exclude the possibility when it could help increase checks seems bonkers.

But it DID happen, so how could I expect your quite nasty response? How arrogant of you to assume it “simply would not happen” and then jump to calling me a “teenage troll” simply because it was not something you had experienced yourself or heard of, and frankly, I think you were biased against me because we have a different opinion on whether men should be banned from the mammographer profession. If I were in agreement with you on that, I think your reaction would have been sympathy not mockery and name calling.

Yes, mastectomy and reconstruction.

Ok. My surgery still went the way I said it did.

OK. If you say so.

The people actually carrying out the mammogram itself would still be a radiographer qualified and trained as per my post and specialising in mammography. The mobile units utilise other staff such as nurses, medical assistants, or other staff to assist with patient care and administrative tasks, but the actual imaging is always done by a qualified radiographer.

@Lovelysausagedogscrumpy
So no apology for the repeated shit talking about me while I was away?

Not even an admission of ooops I was mistaken your experience is something the simply could happen?

I am offering an olive branch here and would really like to mend fences with you.

Nope. Nothing to do with differing opinions and everything to do with a lifetime’s experience of numerous surgeries, and not once, ever being treated in such an uncaring and undignified way.

I appreciate you may have walked to theatre - that happens if you are ambulant, but you would not go straight into theatre, strip, lie down and be swabbed down while still awake. You would be taken into an anaesthetic room, checked several times to ensure you are the right person, having the right surgery. You would then have heart tracers attached, a cannula inserted and then the pain meds are administered to make you drowsy, followed by the anaesthetic itself. The only time my clothing was disturbed before anaesthetic was given, was when the breast surgeon came to check that the pre op markings were in place.

And I’m not sure why you would have had two surgeons. The sentinel node biopsy is carried out by the breast surgeon after removal of the tumour. During surgery, a tracer dye is injected near the breast tumour. It travels through the lymphatic system and stains or highlights the sentinel node. The surgeon then uses a probe or visualizes the dye to locate and remove the sentinel node for testing. It doesn’t need two surgeons because it’s part of the same surgery.

l’m not trying to be nasty - simply pointing out that what you’ve described here is very far from the norm of experience here, and unnecessarily brutal - to the point of contempt for the patient. So very difficult to believe.

Hmm, no the person doing the mammogram is most often a Mammography Associate who isn’t a fully certified radiographer/mammograher and are often referred to as technicians. It’s these staff that positions you and takes the image. The images are always analysed and interpreted by a radiographer though. The poster’s point about them not being as expensive as a Dr and more like technicians was spot on,

“Life as a mammography associate
You’ll work in a team with mammographers, radiologists and other staff in a hospital or in a community setting eg mobile breast screening units and medical centres.
You’ll communicate and position people during the examination. You'll also prepare equipment and your work environment for screening (X-rays) to look for cancers that are too small to see or feel. Your work means earlier diagnosis of breast cancers meaning better outcomes for people being screened.
You’ll operate specialised mammography equipment used to screen people for breast cancer and be responsible for its monitoring and performance. You’ll also be responsible for producing high-quality images to support breast image services. You’ll work under the supervision of a registered radiographer working in mammography so you'll be fully supported at all times.”

www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/healthcare-support-worker/roles-healthcare-support-worker/mammography-associate

Yep. Heard of these. They don’t work without supervision. So even in mobile units a radiographer would be supervising.

BUT IT DID GO THAT WAY
PLEASE STOP denying my lived experience.
You are literally trying to write a fictional story on how you think my surgery would have gone to justify how nasty you have been to me.

YOUR experiences are not everyone’s experience. Not once have I implied you were lying or I can’t believe how your surgeries went because mine was different like you have been doing to me and you are STILL DOING IT even after I have proved to you I DID have the surgery I was taking about

STOP AND LISTEN
OPEN YOUR MIND

I had no pre op markings.

I had two surgeons because my breast surgeon was an oncoplastic surgeon and also the head surgeon that teaches the junior surgeons. So a junior one did my lymph node biopsy.

Yes that is literally what the last sentence of what I posted says.
I was merely pointing out that you saying another poster was wrong about these technicians and that only a mammographer/radiologist does the mammogram - well they were more right than you.

I'd have no problem with a man doing a mammogram or any other medical procedures. I do however think it's up to a individual to choose if they want to be seen by the opposite sex. I think all roles in the medical field should be open to both sexes, with patients choosing but with the understanding they may have a longer wait.

That’s my take on it too.

No, actually if you read back, this was nothing to do with mobile screening or anything else. The poster was referring to radiographers as technicians. There is a difference between a fully qualified and trained radiographer and a mammography associate.

I didn’t interpret their comment that way, to me they were saying the person who does the hands on bit of positioning breasts in the machine are “technicians not Drs” as it was about chaperones for males. The people who do the hands on bit, are the mammography associates, also called mammography technologists or technicians, not the radiographer himself/herself who is responsible for supervision and image analysis and diagnosis. 🤷🏿‍♀️

It shouldn't even be a choice. There should be a policy in place (I thought there was already but happy to be corrected) to that you get seen by whoever is available BUT if they're the opposite sex to you there is a compulsory chaperone of the same sex, no exceptions.

Basic safeguarding

Absolutely stunning lack of empathy.

Which would result in those women who have suffered SA or other trauma staying away from routine mammograms in droves. So consequently the already appalling UK figures on late cancer diagnosis would increase and the outcomes for those women would be poorer because they then wouldn’t be screened until they were symptomatic.

l’d have no problem with it. Recently treated for a large BC only discovered on a mammogram so l understand only too well that the handling of breasts for a mammogram is only the start if you are subsequently diagnosed. You may be allocated a male surgeon, who over the course of time will be ‘manhandling’ you much more than a radiographer. You can request a female surgeon but who wants to delay when you have a cancer diagnosis ? l think it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that we’re talking abut healthcare professionals, or that breast cancer is a killer.

To my mind there should be choice as far as possible, and where there isn’t, the ramifications of delay should be explained so that the patient can take responsibility for their own fully informed decision.

As a former operating theatre nurse, I am absolutely horrified that this happened to you, and to the previous poster who told a similar story, @SummerFeverVenice.

When I was nursing, the dignity of the patient was paramount, and even putting on the ECG stickers was done with as little exposure as possible. No patient would have been prepped or draped until they were anaesthetised (unless being done under local/spinal/epidural), nor have I ever seen a patient have their arm strapped to an arm board (to protect their IVI) u til they were asleep.

I can only hope that these are unusual incidents, and are not indicative of worsening care in theatre. If they are the norm, I am shocked, horrified and sickened.

I’m very very sorry to hear that you went through that. I would seriously consider putting forward a complaint if it was recent if only to stop it happening to anyone else. However the language you used when replying to me was deliberately inflammatory calling people “chicken shit” scared to say no who felt uncomfortable with a male radiographer. Not everyone is as brave or assertive as you may be as you seem to pour scorn on people that would have an issue. I also question how helpful your post was on a thread about breast cancer where it could stop women from seeking help. There is a distinct lack of empathy on this thread generally with no acknowledgement for those women who have been sexually assaulted etc and have trust issues with men.

Did the theatre experience happen in the UK? It’s just that the term anesthesiologist was used where in the UK, anaesthetist is normally used. If it was in The UK, I’d complain.

I had no idea it wasn’t normal until yesterday. Thank you for believing me.
They did have trouble getting me to go to sleep as I was internally panicking/freezing. I remember telling them “I’m awake, its not working” when they put the mask on and then I felt some sort of extra wave/surge through my IV arm that sent me off.