My experience having my first mammogram
Women's Care
Ladies, please don’t put off your annual screening; it’s not really as bad as you may think.
Hey ladies, I have a confession to make. I had no clue you weren’t supposed to wear deodorant when you are getting a mammogram. I’m a little ashamed as a woman and someone who works in healthcare, albeit not in a daily clinical setting. I’m Jennifer Inabinett. I help bring healthcare content to you via our website and social media. I’ve written about mammography for years but never knew the deodorant rule until my first ever mammogram in March. (Yes, I’m publicly admitting I’m 40.) You could imagine my dismay, especially making my appointment for 4:40. Luckily for myself and my co-workers, you can remove it before your exam.
What I really want to say, though, is ladies whether you are a 1983 baby and it’s time for your first mammogram this year or you’re older and just have been putting it off, please get your annual mammogram. It’s really not as bad as you think. It’s not intended to be painful. I experienced no pain. So, maybe it’s a bit awkward. I kept wondering am I sweaty? Did removing my deodorant at the end of the work day create an odor? But trust me, our mammography experts aren’t thinking about that. I worked with Olivia at the Telfair Pavilion, who was great. She made me feel so at ease. And, the positioning (a typical mammogram is four positions) and imaging part of the experience took maybe 10 minutes.
I really looked forward to my first mammogram. No, I’m not a glutton for punishment. Don’t look at mammography in a negative way. I look at it as empowering yourself. You are learning about yourself and your body. Following every mammogram, St. Joseph’s/Candler will send you a letter (in addition to putting it in your patient portal). In fact, it’s now a law in Georgia that anywhere you get a mammogram, your results will be shared. The results also are required to be shared with your medical provider. And I’m not talking about whether or not you have cancer. Of course, that’s important, but each year, you will find out your breast density. A board-certified radiologist reads your mammogram images. I was lucky enough that Dr. Jordan Dixon walked through that process with me. Amongst what she looks at is the density of your breasts, or the amount of fat vs. tissue in each breast. On a mammogram, fat is the gray portion on the image and tissue is white.
There are four types of breast density. A is fatty; B is scattered fibroglandular tissue; C is heterogeneously dense (more than 50 percent fibroglandular tissue); and D is extremely dense breast. Categories A and B are not considered dense because they have more fat relative to dense breast tissue. Categories C and D are considered dense breast. Fun fact: each breast can be a different breast density, but on your report, they put the category that is most dense. Your breast density is important to know because it effects your risk of breast cancer, because we know the denser your breasts, the higher risk you have of getting breast cancer because the tissue is typically where breast cancers form.
This is some powerful knowledge to know about yourself, and for what, ten minutes once a year of a little awkwardness? Why it’s so important to know this is because if you have dense breast, you have additional screening options that, if one day you were to get breast cancer, it may be detected earlier when it’s easier to treat. Remember, one out of every eight females will develop breast cancer at some point in her lifetime, so personally, if I have to be that one, I want to find it as soon as possible.
Related Article: What does it mean if I have dense breasts?
I’ll wrap up my experience with the deodorant thing. Hey, maybe I’m not alone in not knowing about that. The reason you shouldn’t be wearing any deodorant is because the residue shows up as little white dots on your images, and remember, tissue also shows up as white on a mammogram. We don’t want to confuse the two to make it seem like you have denser breasts than actuality. This isn’t as big of an issue with 3D mammography compared to 2D, but still worth removing. (So ladies just opt for 3D; it’s the gold standard in breast cancer detection.)
For my fellow 1983 babies, I hope when it’s time to schedule your first mammogram, you won’t hesitate and will be as excited as I was. And for all other women, don’t put off yearly screening. Truly, it can be a powerful and potentially lifesaving few minutes.