I just had my mammogram a few days ago, and I can honestly say that for the first time in over 25 years, it was, (wait for it) . . . almost pleasant! Now don’t get me wrong, I’d still rather scrub toilets than have my breasts squished between two hard cold plates, but here’s the thing — I now know what to request each and every time to make it at least tolerable. But before we get to that, let’s talk, shall we?

For years, every single time that I glanced over at the screen after the tech took the image, my heart skipped a beat and I felt nauseous, because all I saw were masses of white throughout my breasts, and was convinced I had breast cancer. It wasn’t until fairly recently that I learned that I have what is referred to as ‘dense breasts.’

Do you know whether you have dense breasts? And no, I’m not talking about whether your girls are squishy like a marshmallow or perky and stand at attention. In the context of mammograms, dense breast tissue has more fibrous and glandular tissue than fat, appearing white on the screen, potentially masking tumors which, go figure, also appear white. For this reason, at least 38 states are now required to inform women through their mammogram reports whether they have dense breasts, so they can be more proactive in their screenings.

This is where self-advocacy comes in. Once you know what kind of breasts you have, you can make a plan with your doctor about what are the best screening options based on your own risk factors, including things such as age, breast density, family history, level of physical activity, weight, etc.

Knowing this, let’s get back to how you can make your mammogram, dare I say, even bearable. For me, there were four things that were different this time, and I want to be sure that you are aware of these factors yourself:

  • Take an over-the-counter pain med a couple hours before your appointment. I personally took an Aleve, and that made a huge
    difference.
  • Request that they use a MammoPad, which is a soft, mushy foam square that adheres to the lower plate and may just change your life (OK, maybe an exaggeration, but wow — what a difference it made!)
  • Ask if it is possible to have your mammogram in the smallest room they have because it will cut down dramatically on the amount of time your breast has to be smooshed while your tech walks back and forth from the mammogram to the on/off switch.
  • Finally, and if you are lucky enough, get a wonderful tech who is as gentle and attentive to your needs as the one I had the privilege of having: MJ Johansen.

And there you go. May all your mammograms moving forward be as much of a breeze as mine was!