For goodness sake! I have written - again and again - that there must always be a choice. I really don't see that would be a logistical problem. All my mammograms over the last three years have been in a breast care centre hospital setting, where they're a production line and there seem to be three or four mammographers working every day at the same time. It wouldn't be difficult to get women to tick a box stating a preference.
I fully respect that it bothers some women, so there must always be that choice.
Having said that, there is a shortage of mammographers which is affecting speed of treatment. I've been a victim of that. Firstly, my female GP misdiagnosed my breast cancer and wouldn't refer me to the fast track (because it was under pressure), so my diagnosis was delayed by six months until I was due for a routine mammogram. When a suspicious area was spotted, I still wasn't seen within the supposedly guaranteed two weeks, but waited five weeks for a biopsy which confirmed the cancer. The reason I was given for the delay was staff shortage.
Eventually, I was referred to a consultant and had an MRI scan, when another cancer was spotted. Goodness knows how much the cancer had progressed in the year since I was first worried to the time of my eventual op. The delay was caused by a mistake made by a female GP and staff shortages. Ten years earlier I had also had a suspicious lump and was referred immediately by a male GP - fortunately, that lump turned out to be benign.
Eventually, it was recommended I had a mastectomy, which is the normal procedure for a woman with two cancers. I asked for a second opinion and was fortunate enough to be re-allocated to a wonderful Indian oncoplastic surgeon, who agreed to remove the cancers but preserve my breast. In my eyes, he's a star! I now have a scarred bag of skin with a reattached nipple which has been filled with my own fatty tissue. It looks perky and is rock solid (so looks great with a bra), but it isn't the same as the breast I lost. He then operated on my other breast, so that it matches in size and shape. I would trust him with my life. I really don't care who handles this "non breast".
But none of this is relevant to those who don't want a male to administer a mammogram. They deserve a choice - and that must be guaranteed. Nevertheless, I would rather the whole service is under less pressure and if allowing half the population who are currently excluded to become mammographers helps ease the problem, I'm all for it! I'd be peeved if this possible solution were to be blocked because about half of women won't accept a male mammographer. However - and again I'll repeat, it's a big "however" - women must be given a genuine choice.
