United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

It just dawned on me today at the Dr.'s that I would think it would be difficult for female OBPIs to have a mammogram done - due to the arm positioning, shoulder dropping back etc.! Has anyone had any difficulty with this? CMB

Yes, but then all ladies hate the mamo drill!
We just have more difficulty and each has a different experience.

I need to have my right arm fixed so that it does not just drop down to my side.
They don't seem to get that I just can't keep it up there without something to hang my fingers on... or tape!

I also warn them that they cannot stretch me to much or they will cause more damage to bp.

It's not pleasant but we should NOT avoid it because of the problems.

There are some really funny stories about obpi girls and our Mamo's.

Kath (robpi/adult)

Kath is right in that Mammograms are not fun for anyone, but they are a special challenge for us.

Duct tape works wonders. I always bring some and we tape my arm up into position. I'm also usually pretty sore the next couple of days from the unnatural stretching that occurs.

But it is necessary and I would not use a bpi as an excuse not to have my yearly mammogram.

Judy T has a funny story about her last mammogram but I'll let her tell it

Nancy

It is a very uncomfortable time in life that's for sure. X-ray's are kind of the same if you can't move you arm to the position they want you to.

The joy's of life.

*L* Can't wait for the other story to be posted.

I agree with what has already been posted here: It's a special challenge on the OBPI side, but mammograms are not fun for any woman.

This isn't a funny story, but it's a good story. In 1999 my mammograms showed calcifications in my left breast. I had to go back for more mammograms, magnified views this time. I am LOBPI, so I had to go through the difficulty of mammograms on my BPI side again, but I'm glad that I did.

After the second set of mammograms were taken, I was told to see a surgeon, and given a list of surgeons that the doctor's office knew my insurance would accept. I had a friend who had had a mastectomy. She'd done her homework on the surgeons and chosen one who was on this list. I knew this doctor from our synagogue, and knew that I would be comfortable with her personally as well as professionally. So I chose her, too. At the surgeon's office, she could not feel a lump, but the calcifications were on my mammograms, so we scheduled a needle localization biopsy.

The biopsy was done on a Tuesday. I had to wait until that Friday for the surgeon to call with the results - malignant. I was lucky. My malignancy was caught in stage zero. Some doctors call it cancer. Others call it a pre-cancerous condition.

I didn't need any additional surgery. After 6-1/2 weeks of radiation treatments, I was done with therapy. Radiation treatments make you tired, and I did get tired, but they do not cause nauseousness, vomiting or loss of hair, as chemotherapy can.

All my mammograms since then have been normal. Imagine what could have happened if I had not gotten annual mammograms.

So, my message to all women is: GET YOUR ANNUAL MAMMOGRAMS. THE PAIN OF THE MAMMOGRAMS LASTS ONLY FOR A FEW MOMENTS. THE PAIN OF BREAST CANCER, FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, CAN LAST A WHOLE LOT LONGER.

Joanie, 58 years, LOBPI

Here is the story that Kath and Nancy are talking about! When I went for my last mammogram they used a digital machine which is faster( thank goodness). When they got to my bpi side, I told the tech that she would have to position my arm the way she wanted up in the air ,but then she needed to take it down when she was finished. She finished up and started with her typing and such and said you are done you can go now and started back to work again. I said um can you give me a hand, you left me up here. Judy