Assisted Living: Dealing With Everyone's Emotions

Assisted Living: Dealing With Everyone's Emotions

Dos and Don'ts of Attending Your First Mammogram

by Julia Gregory

The age at which you should have your first mammogram can vary greatly, depending on your family's medical history and your risk. However, for most women, the first mammogram will be scheduled around age 40. Having regular annual mammograms can help to detect the presence of breast cancer in its earliest stages, when it's the easiest to fight. If you've got your first mammogram coming up, you might be wondering what you need to know that your doctor hasn't already told you.

DO Wear a Shirt (Not a Dress)

For starters, consider wearing a shirt rather than a dress on the day of your mammogram. If you wear a shirt, you'll only have to get undressed from the waist up. Unfortunately, if you choose to wear a dress, you'll have to get completely undressed and don one of those uncomfortable, starchy hospital gowns while you wait for your doctor to show up. This isn't a huge deal if you don't mind getting completely undressed, but for women who prefer not to, wearing a shirt to the exam can help make them more comfortable.

DO Avoid Wearing Deodorant

Generally, you should avoid wearing deodorant during your exam; yes, this sounds odd, but the reason for this is that sometimes, deodorant can interfere with the results of your mammogram. Specifically, it could either cause a blip to show on the results that appears to be a lump but isn't, or it could obstruct the appearance of an actual lump. If the thought of going a day without deodorant makes you sweat, consider scheduling your mammogram for early in the morning.

DON'T Freak Out if You're Called Back

Finally--and this is one that most doctors won't think to tell their patients--don't automatically assume the worst if you're called back for a follow-up appointment. It's actually very common to be called back after your first mammogram. This is especially true for those who have naturally fibrous or dense breast tissues. As it turns out, most of the time, a call-back is something doctors do to be as cautious as possible and very rarely do the results actually turn out to be cancerous. So if you do get called back in, try not to panic; it happens to a lot of women.

Now that you have a better idea of what to expect for your first mammogram, all that's left to do now is show up on your exam day. For more information, contact Women's Care Inc.


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About Me

Assisted Living: Dealing With Everyone's Emotions

The decision to move one of my parents into assisted living was one of the most difficult I have ever made. I had extreme feelings of guilt that led to me being at the facility with my parent practically around the clock. It took a few months before I realized that I could not let my own life fall apart from the guilt I was feeling. I also learned that my parent was fine without me constantly hovering around. Since that time, I have had several friends express similar feelings of guilt. I started this blog to help others in the same situation understand not only their feelings about assisted living, but those of their parents.

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