I finally did it!

I am so bad, I haven't seen a doctor in years.
I'm never sick, I hate taking drugs and I don't like Drs Offices, weirdly enough I prefer going to the densist! But I'm not getting any younger and I needed to do some of those preventative thingys.

So I finally did it!
Blood test, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, pap, EKG, mammogram, ultrasound... I got the works!

A month later with all the results I'm feeling rather smug because everything is good. I was really happy with my cholesterol; LDL 97, HDL 67. The Dr said my HDL was phenomenal. She told me to keep doing what I'm doing. So, last night as I poured my second glass of red wine, I thought I can keep doing this :-)

So why do I feel the same about getting breast cancer?
I was given a clean bill of health.

Like a lot of women (including my mother), I'm a little lumpy in the mammary area. That's fine, as long as the lumps move around each month I don't worry - now if a lump persisted that would be of concern. The lump my Dr found when she was doing an exam concerned her. She sent me to a Breast Imaging Center for a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy (if need).
Way to freak me out Doc!

They squashed them one way, then squashed them another way - the instant digital images were very cool. The ultrasound showed cysts just like I'd seen on The Doctors TV show - Man! My boops are like Swiss cheese!

No biopsy needed! I was given information about pain control, how to keep the bumps and lumps under control and how certain foods can make the pain worse. I knew about caffeine, but I had no idea nuts, bananas, wine, mushrooms or cheese could. If you omit the mushrooms that's practically my entire food pyramid, dammit!

And that was it, I was sent out into the big wide world for another year.
20 years later I'm in the same position my mother was in; pad yourself down every month, get a mammogram once a year and hopefully you won't get the big C.

I wish she was still alive today, I wish I could compare notes on lumps and pain. I want to know what she ate, what she thought might help, if there is anything I can do. In this world of medical breakthroughs and advanced drugs, the progress seems to have been in early detection and treatment. Why is there so little information on prevention or avoidance?

I will continue to pad my Swiss cheese boops every month, but it will not be with a feeling of well being, it will be with a feeling of impending doom.