Oh my poor boobs :/ !

It's like putting your boob in the fridge door and slamming it shut! ?

As a wee aside - I also have a huge, black and blue bruise on my left boob. Not caused by the mammogram torture machine but by a very large Bramley Apple which fell from on-high and found a soft place to land. The apple was not bruised and was delicious when baked with raisins and honey.

I should have listened to Sir Issac Newton when he told us why.......

loopylou that is horrendous! Obviously someone lacking in empathy. I wonder would it be useful to get your GP to look at these bruises and feed back to the place you got the mammogram. You may not be the only one to have suffered and this person sounds as if she is in need of retraining!!

I have had many mammograms and am a wimp, but have never found them that painful. Yes, they are uncomfortable etc. but it seems to only take a few seconds.
However, I think it would be another story if I ended up with some of the bruises that many of you seem to have endured.

Well, my boobs both have a line of black and blue bruising both on the top and underneath so clearly it wasn't my overreacting ?. It's never been that bad before.
Very reluctant to go through that again though obviously I will.........

Hopefully you'll all be fine!

Synonymous see my link for an alternative posted on Fri 11th.

Charleygirl did you know you can request a mammogram even when over the age limit? I will do so even though I am now 70.

Daphne that made me laugh out loud!

I really do think it is down to the operator just how uncomfortable or painful it is. I also think that if the men had to undergo such a thing whether it was a 'one-off' or regularly that there would be a great deal of money thrown at research to find a much better and kinder way to test!

I was asked the last time I had a mammogram if I would act as a guinea pig for student radiographers and I agreed to do it about 3 times. It was mildly uncomfortable but I did not mind, they were very gentle.

Apparently I am now too old.

I find they vary (radiographers) from really unfriendly and a bit rough, to really smiley and sweet.So, sometimes it's very painful, and others times just very uncomfortable!

I have had many mammograms since having breast cancer ten years ago and I can honestly say except for very slight discomfort When having the mammogram I have had no problems.always been treated with the utmost respect by the radiographer.

The first 2 mammograms I had were done in a mobile unit in a supermarket car-park. They were uncomfortable rather than painful but the next was in a hospital and was dreadful. No consideration that it was part of my body that was being pushed about, in fact no consideration for me at all. The one I had this year at a well-known hospital was a totally different experience in that I was treated with care and respect, and the machine operator was able to position my breasts with ease. I'm definitely of the view it's individual skill and expertise that defines the pain level inflicted.

I am always surprised when people say they find a mammogram painful or uncomfortable. I have had one every three years since I was 50 (I am 67 now) and have never felt any pain or, apart from the obvious squashing, any discomfort. I must have been lucky I think!

I'm having one in a few days! Not looking forward to it. How long before the results are back?

BTW GNHQ I am not requesting people vote here, just for info.

The brief discomfort from a mammogram is nothing compared to the pain from treatment for breast cancer, believe me! I was dreading my first mammogram 6 months after a lumpectomy but it was comparatively bearable!

Re the query about an alternative to mammograms, you might be interested in this project being submitted for funding by a local charity here in N. Ireland. No squashing involved.

www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/voting/project/view/16-2325

I think the actual machine and the operator can make a big difference. In Wales there is a dept called Breast Test Wales and all they do are mammograms. Should anything untoward be found they oversee the treatment etc using specialist local doctors. You are only seen by them for routine mammograms - if you need one for any reason in between you go to the hospital. When I had one done at the hospital it was far more painful as the ladies were not such experts. Most women are xrayed in a mobile unit parked in a supermarket car park. These places are great too.
I have now been done a couple of times in France and that is an even more comfortable experience. You wait for a few minutes afterwards and the doctor comes to examine you as a second line of defence and then you are given the results and the mammograms to take away with you.

Lazigirl and Merlotgran and others, I can't believe how unsympathetic, sarcastic and downright rude the mammogram operators were to you. Being a cancer sufferer and going through so much at the moment I have only experienced the kindest and sympathetic treatment. If I hadn't I would be the first to complain. I don't think that anyone should put up with rudeness at such a stressful time. I appreciate it can get boring squashing boobs in between two plates all day but there is no need for such an offhand manner.
Daphne, loved the photo.

Daphne I hate that photograph! It makes me cringe everytime I see it.

Over the years I've had very painful "I'm never going again!" mammograms and not too bad ones. I've had a couple here in Portugal which were only uncomfortable but the most recent was the strangest. It was done by a male (very young and attractive) radiographer. Nobody else seemed to find it strange so I just carried on normally and he was so gentle and yet so efficient that I honestly wouldn't have minded going back the next day. I presume it was the last one unless I go privately, as I'm now 73.

Please don't put people off having mammograms!

I have never found it painful - uncomfortable yes - but not painful. I find that using relaxation breathing helps - it is over in a moment.

I had one two weeks ago and it was painful indeed. My poor litle breasts were pulled and stretched light pastry dough. Don't know if it is more painful when there is less flesh to squeeze but rest assured those better endowed that the smaller amongst us also feel the pain.
Test was clear so worth the momentary suffering!

My last one was awful, I have a large scar from my Heart Valve replacement surgery and a 'loose' breastbone, they are supposed to take this into consideration but the woman was awful, really rough.
It has put me off having another one, I showed the bruising to my GP and he was shocked.
I will go somewhere else next time.

? Daphne, thank you!

Very good daphne I had biopsy done under mammogram they have to get a small amount of boob and then take biopsies from this area I was very lucky had a very gentle lady doing this it wasn't as painful as previous mammograms I am not well endowed

The first time I had a mammogram following a crop of breast lumps, I was warned that it would be mildly uncomfortable. Consequently, when it turned out to be excruciating, I assumed that something had gone wrong and promptly passed out (with one boob still trapped). I came round on the floor and the radiographer kindly lowered the machine so that they could 'do' me while seated in a chair. Then I had to wait for an hour in the waiting room until a doctor came to check me out and ascertain why I had fainted before letting me out to drive back to work. Although he was a man, he thankfully took my word for it that I had gone into shock with the sudden, unexpected agony.

Had umpteen mammograms since which have been OK but not exactly what I would choose for a wee treat.