Are you having regular mammograms?

Hi! My name is Rona and I had WLS a little over 17 months ago. I've made it to goal weight and will be having a Tummy Tuck in just 6 weeks. What a miraculous journey this has been! Just yesterday I discovered that WLS has saved my life in more ways that I could've ever imagined. For the first time in several years I had a routine mammogram this past January. Prior to losing over 100 pounds I refused to go for a mammogram because the whole process was just too embarrassing.....gowns that were too small, unsympathetic health care workers, poor self image, etc. Anyway, I decided to start the year off right with a physical and mammogram. Three weeks after the procedure I was stunned to receive a letter in the mail stating that I needed to return for another mammogram. The radiographer showed me the mammography films and it looked like my breasts had lint on them. Tiny little flecks of white clustered together in several places. We did a biopsy the next day and the results were benign but my surgeon wasn't convinced. After two additional pathology reports confirmed that it was benign we scheduled a follow up mammogram for six weeks. I had the follow up mammogram and expected a perfect report. I didn't get one. There was more "lint" and it was very dense. I spoke with two surgeons, both of whom agreed, that bilateral mastectomy was the way to go. 6 women in my immediate birth family (I'm adopted) have or had breast cancer. Only one woman on my birth mother's side of the family has lived past 60. This family history combined with the mammogram results makes mastectomy necessary. We are relatively convinced that the pathology report from the mastectomy will come back malignant. When the cells are so small it's easy to miss them with a biopsy. If I'd never had WLS I never would have had a mammogram. If I'd never had the mammogram we wouldn't have discovered the cells and by the time we did discover them it's very likely that I wouldn't have had a good outcome. I might have ended up just another woman who didn't make it to age 60 in my family. Thanks to WLS I am taking better care of myself and I hope you will too. Please don't let weight be an issue in getting breast screening, gynecological screenings or prostate screenings. You are worth every second of aggravation or frustration associated with these screenings. I may (or may not) ultimately have breast cancer (we'll know for certain on the 15th) but I can tell you this much...IT DOESN'T HAVE ME!! I won the first victory in this battle when I had WLS and I'll win every one that comes along. Are you taking good care of yourself? I hope so. Best wishes friends.

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