Horribly painful mammograms!

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dcjoslin56
dcjoslin56 Member Posts: 20
edited October 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer
Horribly painful mammograms!
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  • dcjoslin56
    dcjoslin56 Member Posts: 20
    edited October 2014

    I am a 6-year survivor of Stage III breast cancer.  That's the good part.  Mammograms are horribly painful for me, and I usually end up screeching and crying.  I omit caffeine from my system for a good month beforehand and take Vicodin an hour before.  Nothing works.  I had an area of pain 6 months ago on the opposite side of the cancer and had a biopsy, which showed no cancer.  I am due for a mammogram now and DO NOT WANT TO DO IT!  I know I should, but I just can't face it.  Suggestions?  Help.

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  • WinningSoFar
    WinningSoFar Member Posts: 951
    edited October 2014

    How about a breast MRI instead?  I suppose that would depend on whether your insurance would cover it, but maybe your doc can plead 'extreme circumstances' or something. 

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  • MmeJ
    MmeJ Member Posts: 167
    edited October 2014

    Congrats on six years out.

    What treatments did you have for Stage III?

    I have one remaining breast, had three surgeries and radiation on both sides.  Burned badly and can still feel it three-plus years out.

    Nevertheless, I have a mammo once a year and after all these treatments, I can't imagine not being able to handle all of the five minutes of discomfort one day a year.  Maybe some guided imagery would help you.

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  • Blessings2011
    Blessings2011 Member Posts: 4,276
    edited October 2014

    dcjoslin56 - I hear ya! My Original Girls were huge, droopy, fibrocystic, and hung to my waist. They were extremely painful anyway, but being crushed flat was excruciating. Every year I'd have my mammogram and see them squashed to the size of dinner plates. I wanted to cry every time, but then I would always remember taking care of my mom after her radical mastectomy.

    I figured I could take 5 minutes of pain to avoid the horror she went through.

    Ironically, mammograms did not find my cancer. I was diagnosed at the same age she was. She was my hero and my role model. She had her left breast removed, with no other treatment or recon. She passed at the age of 87 with no recurrence of the cancer.

    I wish I had some good advice for you.... just wanted to let you know I felt the same way you do. Maybe an ultrasound or an MRI?

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  • Meow13
    Meow13 Member Posts: 4,859
    edited October 2014

    My last one was painful the first time I was bruised.

    I think I will tell them next time to be more gentle if they can.

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  • Meow13
    Meow13 Member Posts: 4,859
    edited October 2014

    By the way, they do both sides even though left is DIEP.

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  • angelia50
    angelia50 Member Posts: 381
    edited October 2014

    My cancer was first found at a local clinic but once I found out it was cancer, I moved to a cancer center and the mammograms there were much more comfortable than the ones locally. I am not sure why, dont know if they have better equipment or what but it was a big difference.  

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