Mammogram Fears - Worried I've left it for too long.

[Prefuse73]

Well I'm going through a bad bout of HA right now. I had a mammogram when I was 41 it came back normal, except I have extremely dense breast tissue. I've skipped the last 3 years because I find going for mammograms so scary and traumatic. I have one scheduled in 3 weeks time and I am in an out of control panic thinking I have made such a big mistake leaving it for so long. My brain is immediately going to the worst possible case scenario that because I left it so long, i now have an advanced tumor. This is torture. Anyone else ever been through this?

TIA

[WiseMonkey]

You need to face your fear and take the appointment. Some places now have 3D mammograms, which are great for seeing through dense breast tissue. The longer you hold out the worse your fear will become. Let us know how you got on :)

[pulisa]

In the UK the NHS screening mammogram is offered every 3 years and screening doesn't start until the age of 47. If you haven't had any red flag symptoms then you really haven't left it "too late". If you lived here and didn't have any red flag symptoms you wouldn't even have had a mammogram yet!

If you have an appointment then it's best to go and get it done and dusted..Mammograms are meant to protect you and show up any problems before they become noticeable..but of course it's your choice. Please don't worry about the length of time between appointments though.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

Please also read this post:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=213239

[Prefuse73]

You need to face your fear and take the appointment. Some places now have 3D mammograms, which are great for seeing through dense breast tissue. The longer you hold out the worse your fear will become. Let us know how you got on :)

Thank you for your kind words, I will go to the appointment, the waiting is sooooooo hard!

[Prefuse73]

Thank you pulisa that is reassuring. Wish I could stop myself from going down these anxiety ridden rabbit holes.