abreast of the situation...

This past Thursday I had an appointment I really wasn’t looking forward to. Nope, it wasn’t THAT yearly appointment to see the doc…been there, done that. But this one was going to be just about as much fun. As I was going to a new location, I gave myself plenty of time to get there.

I arrive at 11:00am. That’s okay, I’m only twenty minutes early…and I brought a magazine. I check in. The attendant seems to be having trouble locating my appointment. Ah, she finds it. It’s for 11:40am. Crap…I’m forty minutes early. Oh well. I plant myself in the empty waiting room and start in on my Entertainment Weekly. Within a few minutes I am called to go to another room. Bonus, I’m getting in early. Next I am escorted into a little change room where I am to wait for a technician. The tech comes within a few minutes and before you know it I am face to face with the Mammomat 3000!

Yes, ladies…those of you over 40 are probably familiar with it and its kind. This was only my second mammogram, but I don’t recall ever seeing the name of the machine last time. It just about cracked me up. My mind was racing with other names the inventors possibly tossed around…”What are we gonna call it?” “I know…how about the Boob-O-Matic?” “The Juggernaut?”

Humour always helps those awkward situations. Thank you to the lovely tech who made the whole experience very comfortable. Nice when you have things in common (both our sons had just graduated). Makes for easy conversation and relieves the awkwardness.

Nothing says "I am woman" more than having your breast squeezed between two plates of glass. Say cheese. Or should I say, Got milk?

At least that’s over for another year or two…I hope.

As everyone has somehow been touched by breast cancer in some way…myself, most recently through an art friend who is currently undergoing treatment, I would recommend that if you are of age and haven’t done so, make your appointment with the Mammomat 3000. A few minutes of discomfort in exchange for early detection of this horrible disease are more than worth it. And don’t forget those regular breast self-examinations.

I’ll get off my soap box now.