Search Results for: blog my first mammogram

What Is It Like to Get a Mammogram?

If you have never gotten a mammogram, you may be a little anxious about the process. Here is what it is like and what you can expect during your first mammogram. I remember the first time that I got a mammogram. It was an interesting experience and I wished I had known a little more about the process before I had to get one done. Then again, I am the kind of person who grills the oral surgeon for all of the gruesome details about how exactly he plans on extracting my embedded wisdom tooth. Don’t worry, it isn’t that … Continue reading →

New Mammogram Guidelines

On the news tonight they were talking about the new guidelines for mammograms for women over the age of 50. They are now saying that women should only be screened every two years so that it reduces the false positives by 50%. Ok what about the women who would be caught the 1st year while it is still in its early stages then by the time year two comes around they would have a more advanced cancer diagnosis. Now I am sure the insurance companies would love not having to pay for them every year but come on what is … Continue reading →

My First Mammogram

So if you have never had a mammogram than you have never had a “boobie pancake”, before I had mine everyone lied to me. They all told me it wasn’t bad, yeah right!!! I am going to be honest I guess there could have been things that were worse but, off the top of my head I cannot think of what it would be. I am not positive who invented the mammogram but I am convinced either it was a man or a female into pain. Here is how my day went… First, my husband came because I think he … Continue reading →

The Day a Lump Entered My Marriage – Part II

In Part I I told about the day I found a lump in my breast. Here’s what happened after: All Alone Nothing looked brighter the next morning. Wayne was a mess, and at first this freaked me out more. I needed him to pull it together. I needed him to be strong to carry me through. Or so I thought. When I called the doctor that morning, she got me right in. Wayne could not get off work to come with me so I had to go alone. The doctor also freaked at the size of the lump and scheduled … Continue reading →

Don’t Forget to Take Care of Yourself

As a mother it is natural to put our children’s needs above our own. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is important to remember to take care of your needs as well. Your kids need a healthy mommy to take care of them, which means like it or not, you can’t push your needs aside anymore. You have to take care of yourself, so you are still around to take care of them in the future. As a woman yearly exams are crucial. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how healthy you think you may be, there’s … Continue reading →

Getting Some Breast Answers and the Next Steps

Getting a late morning call to come back in to the radiology department after I had just been there for a routine mammogram was very unsettling. It took until the next day to get some answers from my doctor’s office. My doctor’s nurse called the next day, and I missed the call. I had taken my kids to the library and the park. Life goes on, right? I did feel less inclined to run around through the maze of the playground and more inclined to sit in the sun and read a book. Inevitably, though, there are one or two … Continue reading →

Getting Your Ducks in a Row

When I had my cancer scare last year it was the last thing I expected. I was a young single mother who was now facing some pretty huge decisions. At first I fell apart, I was devastated at the thought of not being able to watch my son grow up. I wanted to be there on his first day of school. I wanted to be there when he learned to ride a bike for the first time. I wanted to watch him grow into the young man I knew he was meant to be. Instead, I had to face the … Continue reading →

Always Confirm Your Test Results. It Could Save Your Life

Imagine if you or a loved one was diagnosed with cancer. Many of us are familiar with the panic and devastation that such a diagnosis causes. Now imagine that doctors knew that the cancer was there but didn’t tell you for more than a year. Meanwhile, the cancer had time to grow and spread. What would you do? For many people, this is not a “what if” but a reality. MSNBC recently reporting on the story of Peggy Kidwell, who’s cancer continued to eat away at her body for a year, while her mammogram report sat idle on the desk … Continue reading →

Green Celebrities: Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon is probably best known as the lawyer Miranda from the series “Sex and the City.” But, since the series ended in 2004, Nixon has focused much of her attention to charitable contributions. Nixon, herself a product of New York City schools, first became an education activist. She became involved in the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), in part because her own children attended NYC schools. The AQE fights for quality education and funding for the public schools. In 2003, Nixon left her longtime boyfriend, Danny Mozes, and began dating education activist Christine Marinoni. In 2006, she was diagnosed … Continue reading →

Why We Canceled Our Health Insurance

After fighting so hard to find affordable health insurance, we ended up canceling it. This may sound crazy, but I can explain. The short answer is that the insurance policy wasn’t anywhere near as “affordable” as it first appeared to be. When my husband and I first started trying to find health insurance, it was for specific reasons. We had concerns that if something serious happened to either one of us, that we would end up losing our home. The fear was that the medical bills that would come from having cancer, or from recovering from a serious injury, would … Continue reading →