Like many women, I’m confused and alarmed by the recent decision that mammograms aren’t needed by women under 50 and annual exams only needed every two years for women over 50. My mom, who is fine, had a mastectomy 13 years ago which has made me, like anyone with a history of this disease in their family, hyper-vigilant. I had my baseline mammo at 35 and faithfully get one every year. The summer of 2002 was a little terrifying as some cysts showed up in my right breast and had to be watched. They were nothing.
Would I have been better off utterly ignorant?
Mammos, as anyone who’s had one and the photo I chose for this post make clear, aren’t comfortable. Your breasts are squeezed as flat as possible between two plates of glass, for what feels like ages but is likely 30 seconds. The frightening part is awaiting your results and, like thousands of other women, every year I shake with anxiety. Thank God, so far, I have not been hit with this disease. But I cannot imagine that not knowing what is happening to my body, choosing deliberate ignorance (even with false positives), is better.
The exam gets easier as you age, as breast tissue thins and mammos, typically, hurt less as a result. I plan to keep getting mammos and keeping a close eye on the twins. I’m betting many women will do so as well.
Broadside 