Mammogram recall under 50

[ShootingStarsinthesky]

Hi, I am very apprehensive as I have been recalled after my first mammogram. I am 48 and have been called before 50 years as they are running the pilot scheme here locally and eventually all women countrywide will be tested from 47 years.

I have no history in my family of breast cancers at all so no worries on that front. I am just very concerned that something could be really wrong. I go for a retest on Friday this week so not long to wait but still the waiting is horrible.

Me too. Not my first - I have just had my second at 51 but had my first at 48 which was ok, result-wise, although the actual mammogram was not.

I plucked up the courage to go again, with the help of 2 nurophen plus and a paracetamol and now have to do it all over again.

I have my retest Thursday next week. They gave me an appointment for this Thursday which was a bit fast! I only got it this Monday, so I had to change it and wait another week.

At this rate, I will have had 3 mamograms in under 3 years, instead of the 10years they use in their statistics.

Try not to worry - I think it is more a case of them not having taken good enough pictures the first time - a problem with calling up people who are younger and with denser breast tissue. The leaflet I have tells you absolutely nothing of any value. If you look at page 3 of this www.npc.co.uk/therapeutics/other/breast_cancer/resources/pda_breast_cancer.pdf you will see a huge proportion of the recalls are this.

Hi DayLillie thank you for your message and very interesting attachment. I feel a little better now for reading that information.

Am sorry to hear about your call backs and am glad to see the likelihood of you being ok again is still very high.

When I had my mammogram the radiographer seemed to think earlier screening 'over screening' in her opinion and was likely to cause more problems than it prevents!! interesting.

I think she is probably right, overall.

It seems more important to have mammograms when you are older, and your risk is higher and they work much better at finding abnormalities.

I hope go well Thurs for you.

Hi I just thought let you know the result of my recall as the NHS are going to be rolling out mammograms from 47 years very soon all over the country.

I had a few cysts visible and one did not have a definable edge this concerned them enough to call me back but they did see it on ultrasound. They will not remove these as they will disappear naturally by about the menopause and are not uncomfortable so all good.

It is very scary to be called back but it is very common and I think will be even more common in the under 50 age group as pre menopausal breasts are more fibrous and more likely to have cysts. Thank you as always for all your support.

Thanks - I go for mine next Thursday.

It is so much scarier as they will not tell you what it is until you get there.

I had a routine mammogram yesterday. My right breast still twingeing after its splatting.
Hope don't get recalled; I am under 50 too.

I had one yesterday too. Just routine.
I didn't find it uncomfortable at all...I must have desensitized boobs

I'm having one tomorrow afternoon, completely terrified. About what the results may be and also about the pain of the actual "splatting". Hope I'm like you arlagirl and can't feel it. My GP said to take a couple of brufen before so fingers crossed. I'm 36.

I have to have one too, eek, I said I'm too young, at just 49, but they mentioned how they are starting at 47

OP I am glad to hear you have no problems.

There is a lot of debate about this trial. Lots of people in the field question its value because of misdiagnosis. It is far more likely that you will be diagnosed with a "cancer" that would never have caused a problem, than that you will actually have a cancer that wouldn't otherwise have been picked up (eg with you finding a lump or other symptoms). There is also a proportion of genuine cancers that will be missed, so even an "all clear" is not something to be totally relied on.

There is a lot of debate about stress caused by the process and whether it is program that should be rolled out or not. Regular self examination is probably a better approach.

Interesting that in the US women are advised to have yearly mammograms.

My area is also included in the under 50 trial, and I got my invitation a few months back. Having read up about it, I decided not to have the mammogram.

eg here

Mmmm... I do wonder whether I should have had the mammogram.
I am a worrier. It sounds like over diagnosis a big problem with women under 50.
Oh well... done now, just have to wait for results.

Sapphire - if you look at the diagram in the link above, you will see that many more people are not recalled than recalled, then many more of the recalls do not go any further. It is reassurring.

I read the NS piece just after I was recalled

Anyway, I shall see what happens tomorrow and decide what to do in the future from that. I suspect there must be cysts somewhere and the mammo has left me with sore patches.

I don't like the way the appointments work - you have one foisted upon you and have to go out of your way to change it . At least with the cervical screening, you can make the appointment when you feel up to it. I had my first mammo in January '12 and would have waited the full 3 years if I had had any control over it. I would have gone for a better time of the month too (or as best you can during perimenopause).

The vast majority of people who have a mammogram have no problem at all - so the chances are you will be fine. But it is a stressful process and it is interesting to know that even the experts in the field don't yet agree as to the value of mass screening.

Well, I was well mammo'd and ultrasounded, and whatever had shown up on the original had gone. The staff at the clinic were very helpful and explained everything well and I got to look at the mammograms.

In the future, I will rearrange the appointment to suit my cycle better (if I have one) and can most definitely recommend taking decent painkillers a couple of hours before the appointment. It really helped me.

:) good news.