Mammograms

Two conversations I've had with complete strangers in shops have always stuck in my mind, one of them being with a woman by the meat counter who said to me 'never eat pork and never eat dairy'.

Of all the stuff I read when I was diagnosed, the thing that really convinced me was the one concerning dairy products, and the hormones likely to be in them. Some (*but not all*) types of BC cancers "feed" on oestrogen, and so the one thing I felt my body could do without was that. So, no milk etc, though I do have a little cheese. I hate soya milk, but rice or oat milk is acceptable. And I'm also vegetarian, but was so long before BC. You do what you can.

I hate the thought of breast cancer but I have to say that I am the same as Apricot and I don't have mammograms either. But I did not know that milk can be a problem. So I started reading up on milk and breast cancer and found some interesting articles. Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Surely anyone with asthma is entitled to have the flu jab. If that happens it's worth going to a chemist or supermarket to have it done.

They don't automatically offer you the pneumonia jab until you're 65, glamma, unless you are vulnerable owing to some chronic condition such as asthma. If in doubt, ask your GP.

I go for my flu jab next week do I have the option of having the pneumonia jab at the same time ?

Annika, I always have the flu jab; and I had the pnneumonia jab three years ago. The point is I was not given any time to think about it - just automatically agreed.

carboncareful, have your pneumonia jab, my son who is only 34 didn't have his flu jab or his pneumonia jab last year because when he went to have then he was told by the nurse that his asthma was not servier enough and so he went on to get flu which turned to swine flu and then pneumonia he was ill for a very long time but I am pleased to say he is fit and well now. If you are offered it take it.

Oh my God, the biopsy; I'd forgotten that. My breast was dark purple afterwards, and didn't it hurt?
The breast is much more comfortable now, but there's still a residual soreness if I lie to long on that side. Still, better than the alternative, eh? x

Ariadne..I had a Mammogram this week ..3 years after having a lump removed. My left breast has been tender ever since and I still can't wear a proper bra ..just wear good quality support bra top vests.
The screening was agony on my left side, but wouldn't stop me having one in future. Certainly don't fancy another biopsy !! That was sore !!
Good news to all the ladies with clear results xx

cc I wouldn't worry about being unable to succumb to pneumonia. There are plenty of other ailments which can carry you off once you get so old and frail that you can't defend yourself against them.

Mmmmmm!

..the old mans friend....

Had my flu jab yesterday. About three years ago they gave me a pneumonia jab - supposed to last for life - at the same time. No discussion, just "do you want a pneumonia jab too" - how can one say yes or no with no time to mull it over?

Recently someone told me she wished she'd not had it because when you get really old and health things get really bad its pneumonia that sees you off. Now I'm worried about lingering on and on, when I don't want to, because I'm immune to pneumonia...................
discuss

Very different! Thank you, Annika.

I have just had the result of my mammogram and I am so pleased to say I have had the all clear.
A good friend of mine had a mammogram over 10 years ago and a small lump was found ,she was told that it was far too small for her to have found it herself. She went on to have the lump removed and is grateful for every day she has because she knows that it would have been a very different story had the lump not been pick up as early as it was she would have had to have had her breast removed or might have even died.
In the last 10 years she has seen her two sons marry and she now has 4 grandchildren this story could have been so ,so different.

I'm one of those women, dorsetpennt.
I know I'm low-risk: had lots of girls, breast-fed them all, don't drink milk, never took the contraceptive pill or HRT, no family history of breast cancer.
So I'm not adding risks like compressing breast tissue or exposing them to x rays. I know I could be subjected to unnecessary treatment and anxiety from false-positive results. I know mammograms are crude and not used in many other countries but are pushed here because our health service has invested heavily in them and nothing else.
And I only ever had 1 smear because I knew long ago that cervical cancer is a STD and I wasn't a candidate to catch it.
We all need to find out, make informed decisions and do what is right for us.
And remember that we've all got to die of something.

doresetpennt so pleased to hear about your result, still waiting for mine .

Just had my results from a recent scan and I'm clear - thank goodness, always a nervous time as my Mother died of breast cancer at the age of 46. However, this scan really hurt this time - not only did the operator squeeze my poor boobs to death but pinched a large amount of skin as well - ouch. I have a friend who has never had any sort of screening - even a smear - in her life. Doesn't like the idea of them and thinks they are not necessary for her. As her mother deserted her as a baby she has no idea of her family history. She will probably be fine but why turn down something that could save her life. I have said to her these screenings are uncomfortable but cancer is more then just uncomfortable. She won't be budged, it's her business so I don't pursue it. How silly though.

Oh, I do agree about searching for an alternative! My left breast has a big gap in it and is still uncomfortable after 7 years, but it still gets squashed and it hurts.

Had mine last week so am glad to get it over but what I resent most is waiting outside in tesco cra park waiting for them to come back from lunch when we have a perfectly good community hospital where the van could be parked. I dont even shop in Tesco let alone loiter in their car park!

Yes wouldnt it be nice if someone invented a test for men which crushed their testicles between two plates of perpsex perhaps they would hurry up and invent something better for us.

I think I have written about this before but I do feel quite strongly that we women should be pushing for a less barbaric way of breast-screening. I am a bit of a veteran of mammograms and always found them very uncomfortable. However, during my last two, the degree of compression was agonising and I was on the point of fainting and terribly frightened. I was left with marks and pain for days. I swore that I would never accept a mammogram again. I do not live in the UK and have been able to get ultrasounds done instead (better than nothing). I do not feel happy about compressing a breast which may contain a tumour. Medical students are taught to palpate breasts gently in order not to interfere with any tumours which might be present. When you think of all the scientific breakthroughs such as identifying sub-atomic particles, stem cell treatments, travelling/living in space and robotic key-hole surgery, you have to wonder why women have to suffer such a relatively crude screening method in 2011. We are not cattle.This must sound harsh but I think we have a duty to demand proper respect and procedures which cause as little pain as possible. Mammograms are big business.

Went for mammogram last week, the whole thing is not too painful I find the hardest thing is waiting for that letter to arrive !
A friend of mine is very flat chested in fact she is about a 30a cup and she says that it is very painful for her as there is not much for the woman to grab ( they do dont they ) hold of perhaps the larger you are the better it is

Please, please go for your mammograms. I never thought I'd have breast cancer, but I did, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone for the sake of a few moments' discomfort. PLEASE!

Please all of you keep going. I was one where a lump was found, which couldn't be found by feeling and had already spread. Eleven years later, alive and well I know it saved me.