Mammograms: WWYD?

ball.and.chain

Background: my mother died of breast cancer at 55.  She was diagnosed at 50 but it was advanced enough that they think it started in her 40s.  There is no other BC in my family, but because my mom had it pre-50 I am considered high risk enough that I have been told I should get my first mammogram at 35.  I am turning 34 this month.

At my TTC midwife consult (which was a year ago this month), the midwife recommended I get a mammogram before TTC because 1) pg hormones could make a tumor grow faster and 2) you can't get a mammogram while you're pg or bfing, and by the time I was finished cooking the baby and bfing I would be 35.  I talked to my PCP about it and she said she absolutely did not recommend it -- mammograms are not considered useful for younger women because they have dense breast tissue that cause false positives, thus a lot of follow-up and anxiety, exposure to unnecessary radiation which may actually increase the risk of breast cancer, etc.  She also pointed out I would probably be finished with pg and bfing (ha ha, so much for that) while I was 35 and that was the recommended age so I could do it then.

Of course now that my birthday is creeping up I'm thinking of how it's been a year since that consult and it occurred to me that if I get pg in the next few months and then bf for a year, I would in fact be 36 by the time I can get a mammogram...a year beyond what is recommended for me.  Or it could take longer and I could be 37.  So now I'm wondering if I should be going ahead and getting a mammogram now.  Obviously I can (and probably will) consult my doctors, but I wanted to see what others think...because I can't figure out if I'm being a) prudent/careful or b) anxious/neurotic.  I usually fall into the "better safe than sorry" camp but the idea of possibly taking more time off to get a mammogram, getting a false positive, getting more tests, totally freaking out and thinking I am going to die, and then finding out it was all a false positive makes me want to barf.  What would you do?

leapgirl8

I understand why the GENERAL recommendation is to wait, but given your family history, I would absolutely do it.

Jen has had two breast biopsies done for lumps she found, and they both turned out to be nothing. Did we go through some "unnecessary" anxiety? Yes. But the peace of mind is worth it. 

emma+karen

I would do it. If your risk is high there's no sense in waiting past the recommended age for your first screening...better to do it a little earlier than risk letting something go undiscovered.  Just MHO.

tdmklm

I would also do it. Given how my brain works, I'd probably stress more if I didn't do it. My brain bugs the crap out of me

hlke

I'll start by saying I'm a health policy researcher and I firmly understand the issues around false positives/unnecessary anxiety/etc.

That said, I'd absolutely do it given your family history and the potential that any cancer could be hormone sensitive.  I have an acquaintance who was diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy and it was super scary.  Even if you do get a positive result, it shouldn't delay things more than a cycle, and it would be worth it to know everything's okay.

Two*True

Yup, I'd do it too.

nevr2amazin

AS LOUD AS I CAN SHOUT THIS...DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mandykatie

and that's a consensus.  I would do it!

mypalbabs

leapgirl8:

I understand why the GENERAL recommendation is to wait, but given your family history, I would absolutely do it.

 

Definitely this.

ball.and.chain

Thanks all for weighing in.  I talked to my doctors and my insurance company today:

PCP: I don't think it's necessary but I will order it if you really want it.

RE: If your insurance will cover it, get it, but don't be stressed out if they won't because it's fine to wait until you're 36.

Insurance: Yes, it's covered.

My RE pointed out that they are really more concerned if you have 2 or more 1st-degree relatives who have had it; I don't.  I'm also a little freaked out by stuff like this: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/health/research/01cancer.html

Anyway, I decided to get it.  Now it would be great if they can schedule it in the next two weeks so I don't have to take ANOTHER cycle off...would have been nice if I'd though of this early in this cycle since we were skipping it anyway.  I'm pretty sure if I have to skip another cycle for this, my head is going to explode, but I'd rather hold off until I know everything's clear.