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My other girls

I made it home! And the girls are fine. They weren’t traumatized by my return, as I feared. They seemed to know exactly who I was and weren’t angry at all. Probably because they just spent 10 days without a routine or a bedtime. It was a party. Given Eva’s reactions the last two times I went away for a couple nights to teach trauma (first tears, then ignoring me), I had a little bottle of Dulce de Leche in my bag, ready to bribe her onto my lap with a finger dipped in caramel. But it wasn’t necessary. What a relief! And now that I know my baby girls are okay, I spent this morning making sure my other “girls” were also okay. So now that I’ve done it, what’s your excuse?

Of course I’m talking mammograms. You might remember that a dear friend of mine is currently fighting the Big C and that prompted me to finally schedule the appointment I’d been putting off for 4 years. There is a lot of controversy about when a woman should have her first mammogram. The old guidelines said 35 was time. However, because there are so many “false positives,” (meaning a spot shows up that looks funny and requires further testing but turns out to be nothing) some are now advocating that it is better to wait until after age 40 or even 45 for women without a family history of breast cancer and without any suspicious lumps on exam. That’s all fine, but I’m paranoid and I wanted my scan. So I demanded and today I got.
And I’ve gotta tell you, all those horror stories about how painful and miserable it is are nonsense. Unless I have remarkably tough breasts. It didn’t tickle but it certainly wasn’t torture. Almost like an extra tight hug for a boob. 2 minutes later it was all over. No big deal.
I know I’m a pediatrician and not a Boobologist but I still think that Mommies need to make sure they are taken care of too. So if you are over 35, or you have a family history of ovarian or breast cancer, it’s worth thinking about. At least mention to your doctor at your next visit. By the way, you need to have finished breast feeding at least 6 months before your scan and can’t be pregnant. (Fertility treatments and induced lactation were my 4 year excuse. What’s yours?) And I dedicate today’s post to Jen, who is one brave lady.

Dr. Lara Zibners, Sep 07, 2010

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