Article by: Susan McLeod-Harrison
I’m a 40-something woman and you know what that means. I should be having mammograms yearly. At least that’s what the American Cancer Institute says. “
Although the US Preventive Services Task Force now says the exam should usually start at 50, who doesn’t start worrying at 40? The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s home page says: “The biggest risks for breast cancer are being a woman and aging.” This statement seems like a scare tactic in light of the fact that most women will never get breast cancer.
And, you know what? I am scared—and I don’t want a mammogram. Yes, I’ve heard some women say, “It’s not that bad.” But can you imagine a man being asked to place a testicle on a plate and being told not to move while said testicle is squished?
So, I’m skeptical. In the age of the Internet and interlibrary loan, I don’t have to do what the medical establishment tells me. I can research.
Weighing heavily on my mind is my mother’s history. She was diagnosed with breast cancer via mammogram at the age of 60. By her side, I, too, experienced the red fluid pumping through her, the nausea and vomiting, the hankies covering her bald head making her look like an old hippie. She’s cancer-free now, and she says she owes her life to mammograms. She nags me about getting a baseline because the medical grapevine says I am at higher risk because she has had it. She scoffs at my research.
