If You're One Of The Lucky Ones...

 

Hi!

So, what is that old saying? "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?"

Look, even though this fancy boob vice isn't technically a 'prevention' as much as an early detector, you get the drift.

And, until they come up with a better way of early detection for breast cancer, this is what we got.

I can't help but think if we had more people with breasts in whatever kind of engineering field comes up with medical equipment, there would already be another way.

Unfortunately, it's another field where balls outnumber boobs. If those who design these contraptions had the displeasure of having their danglers made pancake-thin both vertically, and horizontally, every couple of years... just sayin'

Thankfully, those who run the place are kind, considerate, and very professional. Even if every mammogram you've ever had has been nothing but clear, it's always in the back of your mind, that this might be the one. This could be the one that finds something. Something bad. 

But, you try to put all of that aside as you enter the linen closet-sized change space to take off your shirt and bra to sport the hospital gown to be worn backward for obvious reasons. 

Then you enter the small room that is about 3 degrees shy of a sauna. As a world champion-level hot flasher, especially when sprinkled with anxiety, under the direction of wearing no deodorant... I mean...  Then you assume the position, correction... positions... plural. At this point, you are tugged, stretched and twisted to have your flesh conform to the cold surface, (which I'm not mad about, by the way) by the hands of a total stranger. A kind, considerate stranger, but a stranger, all the same. 

You disassociate to a degree. This is a superpower known to, if not all women, most. With every pap, during every labour and childbirth, during biopsies... you get it. Or, maybe it's just me? But, I doubt it. You separate yourself from the discomfort. After all, you can do anything for a few minutes. Another necessary evil. Yay.

Then... you wait.

In case they need to redo an image, in case you need to get an ultrasound, in case...

For me, for this moment in time, anyway, I received the all-clear. Lucky. That's really all it is.

We do everything we can to take preventative measures, we do all the things, but what it boils down to, really, is genetics and luck.

I've known too many people who have survived breast cancer, and way too many who haven't. 

Is a mammogram fun? Absolutely not. Should we all do it anyway? Without a doubt.

If you're one of the lucky ones, it will give you peace of mind... at least until next time.

If you're one of the unlucky ones, it will give you a chance to still be here for next time. To be here for all the things. 

******************************************************************

May you be lucky. Always.