Mammograms and male radiographers

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Galaxy

It's a wind up isn't it? The whole women saying no to men is the same as racism.
Or could be your straightforward racism.

What??

There was a nurse present icanhandthemback, she had her back turned, sorting her trolly, she heard him though. When he left the room, she asked if I wanted to report it- I was absolutely stunned at what had taken place, that I shot out of that room as soon as I could.
Another time back in the early 80s a 70+ SA male dr at the hospital came in my cubicle, pulled the curtain round & pulled my gown down below my breasts, nothing on because I was there for bladder surgery (recently had lumpectomy so had a scar) rubbed around my nipples, asked me about the scar. I said that I was there for my bladder not my breasts- I did tell the nurse who came by later- she said my surgeon was female, & didn’t know who he was. She didn’t ask if I wanted to report it, & it was before chaperones.

Mt61

There was a nurse present icanhandthemback, she had her back turned, sorting her trolly, she heard him though. When he left the room, she asked if I wanted to report it- I was absolutely stunned at what had taken place, that I shot out of that room as soon as I could.
Another time back in the early 80s a 70+ SA male dr at the hospital came in my cubicle, pulled the curtain round & pulled my gown down below my breasts, nothing on because I was there for bladder surgery (recently had lumpectomy so had a scar) rubbed around my nipples, asked me about the scar. I said that I was there for my bladder not my breasts- I did tell the nurse who came by later- she said my surgeon was female, & didn’t know who he was. She didn’t ask if I wanted to report it, & it was before chaperones.

I wouldn’t hesitate to report these days- I was young, shy & very naive.
I now take my husband to the surgery if I need anything like that doing.

Mt61 just wanted to say how absolutely horrible this must have been for you, completely destroys trust when you’re at your most vulnerable.

Mumlovesclangers

Mt61 just wanted to say how absolutely horrible this must have been for you, completely destroys trust when you’re at your most vulnerable.

Thanks. Still bothers me to this day. Hopefully doesn’t happen now.

Who on here is racist because they don’t want a male to look at them?

Mt61

Who on here is racist because they don’t want a male to look at them?

Galaxy

Having had breast cancer treatment I think you become immune to the sex of the person handling your breasts. Mammogram - female nurse, ultrasound - male doctor, fitting of guide wires - male, surgeon - male, radiotherapy -male and female radiotherapists, MRI - male and female radiotherapists. All staff, no matter the sex, race or religion treated me with kindness, care and consideration. They were all there to treat me and save my life for which I am very grateful. Some of you worry about a male handling your breasts for a mammogram, do you feel about the same about male doctors performing gynaecological investigations or surgery? Me, I find after the breast cancer treatment I no longer care about the sex of the person carrying out the procedure. I wonder if other cancer survivors feel the same?

Leopard79

For me it would entirely depend on the ethnicity of the male radiographer.

I was recently in hospital for major spinal surgery - I refused to have African men washing and dressing me.

Good grief!!

escaped

Interesting about different machinery for mammograms in different settings.
Does it say on your reports the make and model used? Mine says a Sectra MicroDose Mammogram. I'm no scientist, but from what I can read up on this, it is low radiation and the images can be viewed in both 2d and 3d.

As an aside, I brought back films from a Mammogram I had done in rural France and the UK consultant said the the image was "very poor, obviously an antiquated machine".

I've just checked all my reports on MyChart. They don't say what kind of machine was used.

saltnshake

Having had breast cancer treatment I think you become immune to the sex of the person handling your breasts. Mammogram - female nurse, ultrasound - male doctor, fitting of guide wires - male, surgeon - male, radiotherapy -male and female radiotherapists, MRI - male and female radiotherapists. All staff, no matter the sex, race or religion treated me with kindness, care and consideration. They were all there to treat me and save my life for which I am very grateful. Some of you worry about a male handling your breasts for a mammogram, do you feel about the same about male doctors performing gynaecological investigations or surgery? Me, I find after the breast cancer treatment I no longer care about the sex of the person carrying out the procedure. I wonder if other cancer survivors feel the same?

Yes, I do feel the same.

The person who said it would depend on ethnicity Mt61.

Mt61

There was a nurse present icanhandthemback, she had her back turned, sorting her trolly, she heard him though. When he left the room, she asked if I wanted to report it- I was absolutely stunned at what had taken place, that I shot out of that room as soon as I could.
Another time back in the early 80s a 70+ SA male dr at the hospital came in my cubicle, pulled the curtain round & pulled my gown down below my breasts, nothing on because I was there for bladder surgery (recently had lumpectomy so had a scar) rubbed around my nipples, asked me about the scar. I said that I was there for my bladder not my breasts- I did tell the nurse who came by later- she said my surgeon was female, & didn’t know who he was. She didn’t ask if I wanted to report it, & it was before chaperones.

How did you know he was South African? Or do you mean black?

The white South African family at my Church only have to speak to have that unmistakable accent.

saltnshake I wonder if you've read the whole thread. Quite a few of us have already said about our breast cancer treatments and gynae examinations and said while we didn't mind males in any of those circumstances we would still prefer a female for, to us, the far more intimate closeness of mammograms.

Rosie51

The white South African family at my Church only have to speak to have that unmistakable accent.

saltnshake I wonder if you've read the whole thread. Quite a few of us have already said about our breast cancer treatments and gynae examinations and said while we didn't mind males in any of those circumstances we would still prefer a female for, to us, the far more intimate closeness of mammograms.

Absolutely agree and we are talking here about something that women are required to go to every three(?) years or maybe more often if there are issues or a history of breast cancer. I think many women would also prefer a female conducting gynae exams etc but we just don’t always have the choice especially when it gets to consultant level. I get that having cancer changes everything not just your attitude to health care the majority of women haven’t been through this thankfully and it could put so many women off of having life saving screening. I don’t get why they can’t recruit more women, I suspect it’s because the pay isn’t good enough as usual with the NHS and in particular in roles like nursing and radiography that traditionally have more women than men that’s often the case.

Grow stuff he was south Asian

Mt61

Grow stuff he was south Asian

Is that now the correct way to describe a Pakistani person?

Galaxy

The person who said it would depend on ethnicity Mt61.

My gynaecologist is a white male, but his female registrar carry’s out my Botox bladder procedure once a year.
With what I’ve been through, I don’t want another SA Gp/ surgeon touching me down below- that’s my prerogative. I am not in the least bit racist, just because that’s the way I prefer it.

Also my female SA nurse will be carrying out my smear in a few weeks- no problem with that at all- just don’t want a male, black, brown or white doing it, thanks but no thanks.

Or above

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.

Mt61

Galaxy

The person who said it would depend on ethnicity Mt61.

My gynaecologist is a white male, but his female registrar carry’s out my Botox bladder procedure once a year.
With what I’ve been through, I don’t want another SA Gp/ surgeon touching me down below- that’s my prerogative. I am not in the least bit racist, just because that’s the way I prefer it.

But you've just written that you don't want a South Asian doctor touching you "down below"- that is racist!

There is also the question as to whether male radiographers will want to undertake mammograms. However professional they are, I think many will be able to see the problems and want to avoid them.

This is getting tricky.
Mt61 that was a horrible experience for you. 💐
However, I'm not sure it would be possible to make requests covering every aspect of the person touching our breasts. The male/female bit I totally get, but not the provenance of the practitioner, the colour of their skin, their accent, whether they wear certain dress, or even their shoe size.
I've just checked the breast doctors at our one stop clinic. Both doctors have unpronounceable names, their photos show they are from Asia, infact their blurb says they are from Bangladesh, and they speak Bengali. None of that has any relevance to me, but one is clearly a male, the other clearly female. I make my choice on that last alone.