Survivors and mammograms

Felicia Mitchell is a poet and writer who lives in southwestern Virginia, where she teaches at Emory & Henry College. He was diagnosed with stage 2b HER2-positive breast cancer in 2010. Website: www.feliciamitchell.net

Yay! I just received a form letter regarding the annual mammogram of my remaining breast. "The studies do not indicate any cancer," says the letter. I guess that's good news. Being a survivor makes me feel both relief and ambivalence.

The year that I was diagnosed with stage 2B cancer, HER2-positive, HR-negative, initial mammogram and subsequent biopsy revealed only one in situ tumor (stage 0). It took a mastectomy to reveal another invasive tumor concealed near the chest wall, which makes me grateful for not having any interest in conservative breast surgery.

Although a mammogram is an excellent tool, it is imperfect. Even my letter type says to be wary. "We want to remind you," he says, "that mammography and / or ultrasound does not detect all breast cancers". To remedy this problem and make more likely the discovery of breast cancers not indicated by a mammogram, the letter warns me to do a monthly self-examination of the breast and to pass an annual medical examination.

Mammograms and breast exams are not enough either, not for everyone, but close enough. According to the Susan B. Komen Foundation, which reports on a study conducted in 2009 by the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium, "Overall, the sensitivity of mammography is about 87%. This means that mammography correctly identifies about 87% of women actually diagnosed with breast cancer. "

This is a good statistic. I will always be a supporter of mammograms, despite unsolicited comments from a health care professional in an emergency care facility who has previously suggested that regular mammograms may have contributed to my cancer. Health professionals generally recommend mammograms, thankfully.

"The sensitivity is higher in women over 50 than in younger women," reports the Susan B. Komen Foundation. "It is also higher in women with fat breasts than in women with dense breasts." I am over 50, but I have dense breast tissue, which is one of the reasons I was having an MRI after mastectomy.

People with a high risk profile should undergo annual mammography and MRI, according to the American Cancer Society. This is the first year that I am told not to pass the MRI. I want to trust the wisdom of my medical team on this topic. Getting one every two years can be good too. Or maybe I should go every five years? The remaining breast of my mother after her mastectomy did not develop cancer until around age 15.

In fact, I am more concerned about breast cancer metastases than about breast cancer at the moment. To live my life while surviving cancer and all the worries that this survival entails is a challenge that I am happy to be able to aspire to meet.

So, if I seem ambivalent – both relieved and cynical – I am. All the foregoing. I'm just honest about the seriousness of mammography for women like me because there are a lot of women like me. We are the women who have received the bad news about a mammogram at least once. Participating in an extra event, year after year, speaks to the trauma of the past and worries about future worries, although having a mammogram means we are still alive.

After your annual mammogram, especially if you are a survivor, give yourself a "Yay!" when you have good news, warnings and everything. In the end, these reports can remind us to celebrate life. However, if the news is not good, it's also OK because you can move on to the next step, which is to continue to survive one day at a time. That's what we all do.