I suppose I’ll find many uses for the G.O. initials.  It has morphed for today.  I had my annual mammogram.  Short story: the radiologist doesn’t want to see me for 6-12 months (they are bowing to the opinion of the surgeon on that call).  That is good news for all intents and purposes.

Why Guarded Optimism?  Well, I’ve heard this before.  I still have dense tissue, so they are not the easiest things to read.  SO I went into the appointment just wanting a disc with my 2007, 2009 and 2010 images on it to take to Dr. Surgeon, breast specialist, when I go see her on July 1.  That was accomplished.  I was not nervous.  I didn’t loose sleep the night before.  I just went in like I was getting an x-ray on my ankle or something.  The very kind technologist knew my story.  I really appreciated that.  (My 10th grade spanish teacher would have said “PUNTO!”)  She asked if there was anything to screen on the left side.  I laughed and stuck out my chest like a prancing pony, very proud of the neat and very flat area where my left breast used to be.  Apparently some post mastectomy people have tissue left that is squishable.

So if you’ve never been to a mammogram it’s really something.  All the techs I’ve ever had have been really good at what they do.  Now there are markers on the press to line things up nicely for the digital imaging.  For some reason every time I go for mammograms, the woman before me got to have the BIG paddles.  They always get replaced with the smaller ones for me. 🙂

BTW: I saw a funny card that said something like “if women ruled the world” and it had a picture of a female doctor standing next to a mammogram machine.  The squisher was down at groin level and there was a man in a johnny trembling next to it. 

So here’s how it went:

Tech: Wow, you’re tall, let me raise the platform up a  bit.

Me: (I’m not really that tall, you know.) Yea, so I’ve been told.

Tech:  Position your feet facing the rig, relax your shoulder as I position your breast just right.  Can you lean in toward the machine (read: ‘squisher’)  a little more so I can get all the tissue and muscle?  Right arm up here, ok?  Can you square your shoulders and step your feet back a little so you are leaning in?  Turn your head, ok?  Here comes the scraaaaaaaape along your chest wall.  Sorry about that.  Just want to get as much as I can. 

Me: (leave the ribs out of it, ok?) Yea, I can appreciate that.  (ooooooowwwww!)

Tech:  I’ll just go back here and take the image…oh, why isn’t the machine taking the picture? Let me see.

Me: (the longest squish on record, I bet…it’s actually hard to breathe in this position) (I’m invisioning that I’m having the first mastectomy performed on the mammogram machine today… just cut off all circulation, sort of like what they do to little lamb cojones by tying them off and letting them drop…)

Tech: Are you ok? It’ll just be a sec.

Me: (straining) Yeh, sure, I can do this.  Gravity wasn’t doing a very good job at helping the migration of this thing, so this should help.

Tech: That was really funny.  There, it will release in a sec.

She pivots the machine so it can squish in a semi verticle position too.  The images were good. 

I am in what is called a ‘diagnostic’ catagory now for 5 years.  That means I get to wait while the radiologist grabs the hot potato and looks at the images for a diagnosis.  She came back in less than 5 minutes with the good news.  I had to wait longer to get the images on disc than the entire procedure.  THAT’s what I came for.  SO it sits on my bureau awaiting my trip on Thursday, next.  The reconnaissance mission continues.