September 5, 2019, 3:15 p.m.
I got a voicemail over last weekend from Kaiser Radiology informing me that I was due for a mammogram. Well, she just said a “radiology test” but I knew which test that was. So I returned the call on Tuesday, September 3, since Monday was the Labor Day holiday. I was told I could make an appointment or just walk in. I chose to do the latter.
I had just come from my therapy session with Lisa Galan, so I was feeling pretty relaxed. The walls of the inner waiting area were bright pink and a tall pink flamingo stood guard over a small candy dish, from which I took 3 very small Tootsie roll pieces.
With 50 years of having had mammograms every two years, everything was very routine. I was impressed with the advances in radiology technology over the last 25 years. I can remember times when we had to sit out in a waiting area while the technician “developed” the x-ray film, then then would come out and tell us if we had to repeat a test or if it was okay. Today, the technician went behind a glass-walled cubicle to flip the x-ray switch, then the mammogram machine instantly released its death grip on that small chunk of flesh–and I could breath again. I could see on her workstation monitor the images she had taken, so she knew right then whether anything needed to be repeated. It didn’t.
Update: I got a form letter in the mail on September 18. I’m always glad to get the form letter that says, “There is no evidence of breast cancer.”
