The First Smashing

Last January, I got my first mammogram not long after I turned 41.  I admit, I was slightly nervous, not really knowing what to expect. It's a little hard to not be nervous after hearing from other women that "they were going to smash your breasts in ways you didn't know they could smashed!" Well that's horrifying! But for those of you who have not joined the 40's club, it is not as horrible as it sounds.  I'm not going to lie, it is awkward...extremely awkward!  I mean they are taking pictures of your smashed boobs! But it is relatively quick, only slightly uncomfortable...and extremely important! 

                                                                 
Now, they do not serve these                    Mammo-Grahams while you are getting a mammogram...but don't you think they should?!This would at least make it a little more fun!
Not long after my first mammogram, I received a letter telling me I should see my OB/GYN. They had found a small cluster of calcifications. Women often have breast calcifications. They are calcium deposits within the breast tissue. They will appear as tiny white spots on a mammogram. Most of the time, they are nothing to worry about.  So if they say you have them, don't panic, but don't ignore them.
I saw a breast specialist who told me that they were BI-RADS Category 3, which means they have a high probability of being benign and a
6 month follow-up mammogram was suggested.  Okay, so this seemed a little weird, but I did some research on calcifications and the BI-RADS Categories, and I felt okay with it. 
The important thing for me to remember was to go back and get another mammogram in six months.

For more information about calcifications, go to http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/Content_Binaries/806-03203a.pdf

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