mammogram misery
Belle is single, 48, and suffers from painful, engorged and lumpy breasts. Apparently, according to her doctor, it's a very common hormonal problem suffered by menopausal women and nothing to worry about, but just to cover all angles she was sent for a breast cancer screening test. The mammogram experience was so awful that she will never subject herself willingly to anything like that again.
"My breasts were already painful and engorged," explains Belle, "so you can imagine the excruciating pain I went through when those X-ray plates squashed down on my breasts."
"The woman who was operating the breast X-ray machine must have been a masochist," sighs Belle. "Every time I cried in agony she would press harder -- and if that was not bad enough one of the X-rays did not 'take' very well which meant that I had to go through all that misery again."
"I came out of the X-ray room in tears," says Belle, "and the other women seated outside waiting their turn to be put through the breast wringer looked very worried when they saw me crying -- and they had good reason to be worried."
"The breast X-ray machine has to be the most abominable contraption ever invented -- and it must have been invented by a misogynist, a man who really hates women."
"I've learned since that there is a new procedure for testing for breast cancer that does not involve torture," says Belle, "but it beats me why they didn't think of something more gentle to start off with."
"I bet there is no ball or penis squashing X-ray machine to check for testicular and penile cancer in men, " laughs Belle. "The male dominated medical profession is very, very gentle when it deals with male problems."
"And the male dominated medical profession is not just gentle but downright secretive when it deals with male problems."
"Whoever heard of testicular, penile and prostate cancer before recent years?" asks Belle.
"Men have been suffering from these forms of cancer for as long as women have suffered from breast cancer," claims Belle, "but it was pictures of menopausal women with their breasts being squashed in the X-ray machine that were plastered over our television screens and in all of the magazines -- not pictures of middle-aged men and their crown jewels in similar compromising situations."
"Men pretended that they never had any problems -- it was all hushed up."
"And because men diagnosed with testicular, penile or prostate cancer suffer side-effects such as incontinence and impotence from treatment," adds Belle, "a lot of male doctors felt that mass screening wouldn't work for men as well as it does for women."
"In fact they agree among themselves that the cure is worse than the illness -- and that men would prefer not to know if they have cancer of their private parts."
"Well, as far as I can see it is virtually the same thing for women but that didn't stop the male dominated medical profession from recommending mass screening for breast cancer, did it?"
"Women are treated as stupid sheep as far as health matters are concerned," sighs Belle, "and unfortunately most of us have been brought up to accept that demeaning role."
"I found out later that my doctor could have sent me for a breast ultrasound rather than an mammogram," says Belle. "Why he chose to put me through that agony rather than go the gentle route worries me."
"Actually, there is something else that happened at the breast screening clinic that I need to tell women about," adds Belle.
"After the mammogram a male doctor did a physical examination and the first thing he said when he walked into the room and saw me sitting there bare-breasted was 'what a lovely pair of breasts you have for a 48 year-old-woman'."
"I hope I'm not sounding like an ingrate -- but that was not the sort of thing I expected to hear from a doctor specializing in breast cancer."
"It was sexist, patronizing and a back handed compliment," says Belle. "I doubt whether a female doctor would have made a similar comment about a male patient's appendages."
"My advice to menopausal women is this: Keep away from doctors!"
"My breasts were already painful and engorged," explains Belle, "so you can imagine the excruciating pain I went through when those X-ray plates squashed down on my breasts."
"The woman who was operating the breast X-ray machine must have been a masochist," sighs Belle. "Every time I cried in agony she would press harder -- and if that was not bad enough one of the X-rays did not 'take' very well which meant that I had to go through all that misery again."
"I came out of the X-ray room in tears," says Belle, "and the other women seated outside waiting their turn to be put through the breast wringer looked very worried when they saw me crying -- and they had good reason to be worried."
"The breast X-ray machine has to be the most abominable contraption ever invented -- and it must have been invented by a misogynist, a man who really hates women."
"I've learned since that there is a new procedure for testing for breast cancer that does not involve torture," says Belle, "but it beats me why they didn't think of something more gentle to start off with."
"I bet there is no ball or penis squashing X-ray machine to check for testicular and penile cancer in men, " laughs Belle. "The male dominated medical profession is very, very gentle when it deals with male problems."
"And the male dominated medical profession is not just gentle but downright secretive when it deals with male problems."
"Whoever heard of testicular, penile and prostate cancer before recent years?" asks Belle.
"Men have been suffering from these forms of cancer for as long as women have suffered from breast cancer," claims Belle, "but it was pictures of menopausal women with their breasts being squashed in the X-ray machine that were plastered over our television screens and in all of the magazines -- not pictures of middle-aged men and their crown jewels in similar compromising situations."
"Men pretended that they never had any problems -- it was all hushed up."
"And because men diagnosed with testicular, penile or prostate cancer suffer side-effects such as incontinence and impotence from treatment," adds Belle, "a lot of male doctors felt that mass screening wouldn't work for men as well as it does for women."
"In fact they agree among themselves that the cure is worse than the illness -- and that men would prefer not to know if they have cancer of their private parts."
"Well, as far as I can see it is virtually the same thing for women but that didn't stop the male dominated medical profession from recommending mass screening for breast cancer, did it?"
"Women are treated as stupid sheep as far as health matters are concerned," sighs Belle, "and unfortunately most of us have been brought up to accept that demeaning role."
"I found out later that my doctor could have sent me for a breast ultrasound rather than an mammogram," says Belle. "Why he chose to put me through that agony rather than go the gentle route worries me."
"Actually, there is something else that happened at the breast screening clinic that I need to tell women about," adds Belle.
"After the mammogram a male doctor did a physical examination and the first thing he said when he walked into the room and saw me sitting there bare-breasted was 'what a lovely pair of breasts you have for a 48 year-old-woman'."
"I hope I'm not sounding like an ingrate -- but that was not the sort of thing I expected to hear from a doctor specializing in breast cancer."
"It was sexist, patronizing and a back handed compliment," says Belle. "I doubt whether a female doctor would have made a similar comment about a male patient's appendages."
"My advice to menopausal women is this: Keep away from doctors!"
Labels: breasts, hormones, lumpy breasts, mammogram, menopause, screening test, women, x-ray
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