Today was my annual boob squishing, also known as a mammogram. So here I am posing with the mad science machine that I trust to find any signs of breast cancer early enough that the doctors can save me. And here’s a reminder to you or to anyone in your life with boobs, that mammograms save lives. A few minutes discomfort can make all the difference.
@aspecurian and guys? do breast self exams too, especially if you have female relatives that had breast cancer. you can get it too
@redenigma I knew a guy in his early 20's who had it.
@redenigma @aspecurian Had one last year! Had some pain in the area, self examined, found "lump"...apparently not cancerous, just a side effect of my newest diuretic, Spironolactone.
@Avidspark @aspecurian some lumps are also benign. i had a necrotic tissue lump form after my first lumpectomy, but my surgeon just removed that in her office (which is not normal practice, because most people don't have a pain tolerance that would allow it. i'm weird that way). as it WAS a lump,so it had to be biopsied. it's pretty cool how the body can encapsulate necrotic tissue though
@redenigma @aspecurian I have a ridiculous fam history of cancer. I started being ordered to have mammos about 2-3 news in my crps dx so I was around 39-ish? Had my most recent a few months ago. My drs hound me every year lol
@Evvie @redenigma That sounds... fun. 😕
@aspecurian @redenigma lol I hate it. I have the added fun of being a lil too short to properly reach the machine so unless I’m on my mobility scooter (which is down bc it needs expensive batteries and 3 new tires) to give me a boost, I’m precariously balancing on the stix & my 1 foot. I need spotters lol
@Evvie @aspecurian they should just do ultrasounds on you then. more accurate anyway
@redenigma @aspecurian never even offered that as an option.
@aspecurian @redenigma I didn’t even know ultrasound was an option. Wonder if Medicare will cover it?
@Evvie @aspecurian they use it to accurately locate & figure out the size of a tumor. it's more accurate, especially for women with dense breast tissue. not everywhere offers it, but they should
@redenigma @aspecurian I’m always told I have dense breast tissue (or more accurately until I made them define exactly what they meant) lumpy breasts. 🙄 US medical care needs vast improvements in every way - esp how they manage women’s health.
@Evvie manage women's health? you mean "lose some weight. it's all in your head"
@redenigma oh I hate drs who do that…I was trying to be polite. It needs a full and complete overhaul.
@Evvie @aspecurian have they DNA tested you yet? i had 2 different breast cancers 10 years apart, so they DNA tested me for their database (it's voluntary). i do not carry either BRAC gene though, & i chose to get rid of the breasts rather than sample any of the 11 other types of breast cancers...
@redenigma @Evvie God, what a choice to have to make.
@redenigma @aspecurian I haven’t even asked for the dna test. I worry that my insurance will do something stupid & I can’t have that. They straight up told me even tho it’s not supposed to matter anymore they do consider pre-existing conditions etc for coverage. The people in my family were all heavy smokers & the only thing I smoke is cannabis for management of pain. Not perfect but best I can do.
I’m really sorry you went through all that. I hope that you’re ‘in the clear’ these days.
@Evvie @aspecurian well, i can't get breast cancer at least.
the cancer center i go to (Dana Farber at Dartmouth Hitchcock) asked if i would take the DNA test. i'm on medicare now & i wasn't billed at all for it. and i've HAD cancer twice, once without insurance (radiation therapy costs about $75k. the other diagnostics & surgery were under 30k because D-H has all kinds of ways to cut patient costs) & once with medicare. the second go round, including surgery, was paid for completely by medicare
@Evvie @aspecurian i had the radiation at a local hospital, that's owned by a corporation. when i told my oncology surgeon how much they charged me, that hospital was removed from their list of providers
@redenigma @aspecurian wow. Good on your surgeon!
@Evvie @aspecurian she's awesome, and she's gone from just starting her career to head of the breast cancer department at Dartmouth Hitchcock. i'm really proud of her
(and she talks like Kate Hepburn, that upper crust Connecticut terse clipped thing)
@redenigma @aspecurian I’m really glad you’re healthy & that medicare took care of you. I truly loathe this for profit medical industry. You’ve heard some of my horror stories from the crps treatment & battle w/Exxon. Never want a battle like that again.
@aspecurian self exams find more cancer than mammograms, and usually sooner (since mammograms start at what, 50 years? & are annual), and cancers can start anytime & some are so aggressive waiting a couple months for you mammogram could be the difference between simple lumpectomy & chemo/radiation