tips for better mammogram?

[redrhodie]

Can't post much right now cuz I'm supposed to be working, but lph, I loved your song! I'm going to listen to it through my stereo when I get home. You should make it public. It's really great!

[Trek420]

One day at medical imaging:

I've been remiss, I've been bad, forgive me sisters, it'd been nearly two years since my last confession oops I meant mammogram. So I made an appt. Knott and I drove down, thought we'd make a weekend day of it. I'd get my bqqbs squished and then lunch. Yes, we lead such exciting lives!

We showed up, deposited Knott in the waiting room and I checked in. Soon my squishing tech appeared, she took me in back to the room I'd normally be changing in and sternly announced:

"I can't see you. You need a diagnostic mammogram. We don't do those here and you'll need to make an appointment. No, you can't do those on a weekend. I doubt we can make an appointment for those here. You need to call right away. You have not had a mammogram since 01/??/12 (a date I later realized I was not even in Seattle yet) and at that time we recommended a diagnostic one. So you need to call right away"

I was kinda ticked. Here I was on a Saturday, she's saying I need this other thing and I'll have to use a day off since it's Monday through Friday. Oh well. So I go back out and ask the gal at the desk if I can make an appointment for a diagnostic and she says no, with a very sad sympathetic look, I'll have to call. But I can do that first thing Monday. That's when Knott walks up and asks what's going on.

I explain and she turns white as a sheet.

Diagnostic mammograms as she knew, and I did not till that moment, are what is done when they've found something and need to figure out what to cut. It's a major deal usually also involving MRI. So Knott shakily starts to drive home while, I'm logging into my chart online (can get my medical records online) and pulling up the imaging department. And although it's been over a year all my mammograms are "looks fine. See you next year" "looks fine. See you next year" "looks fine. See you next year" "looks fine. See you next year" .... And I've seen a doctor several times since my last screening and one could think if they'd found signs of cancer my doc would say "enough about the bronchitis, let's take care of this urgent thing."

Nothing there either.

So we both calm down and figure the tech was actually looking at someone else's chart while talking to me (which is very very bad thing although I laugh it off since I don't know who that person is so no privacy issue) or something equally inept. But seems that's a big no no. So when we get home, after lunch and a couple beers, I call and then write my doctor. On Monday morning I get a response from her, something like "Ooops, our bad. Sorry that you thought you were gonna die and yes you can make a regular appointment."

When I went back in it was the royal treatment: the front desk, the tech, everybody apologizing, here, have some chocolate, have some more chocolate, here's a Starbucks card, let us pay for your parking .... I'm just glad to not actually have cancer at this time. Much support and sympathy to those fighting it.

[Crankin]

Oy vey