Mammogram aggrevation.

I had my annual mammogram today.  Such a test should not really be a big deal for me.  And, to be fair, the actual mammogram itself is pretty much a piece of cake, comparatively.  I mean, really, that compared to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatments...... I'll take the mammograms!!!!

However, I guess I got spoiled, if such a thing is possible when getting mammograms. (Some of you have heard this story, more than once, so feel free to jump down past this part if you want to!!)  When I found the lump in my breast 6 years ago, the closest hospital was a little place in a little town in NW Iowa.  I'd never been there, didn't have a regular doctor, and had no clue what I was getting into.  To say that I was blessed to have been in that little town, at the little hospital, when I found that lump in my breast is an understatement.  Really.

When I went to have my mammogram, to look at the lump in my breast, I went to that little hospital.  I'd had one mammogram before, but I hadn't had that kind of fear before.  The tech that day was incredible.  She talked to me and answered my questions.  She rubbed my back as we waited for the radiologist to look at the pictures.  She asked me if I needed anything while she walked me across the hall to the ultrasound room, where further testing was going to occur.

The ultrasound tech was just as incredible, if not more so.  She was the one that sat beside me while the radiologist told me that he was positive that I had cancer.  She asked me if I needed anything or if there was anyone she could call for me.  She waited with me while the radiologist went to talk to the surgeon.  And she hugged me and the radiologist walked me down the hall to meet the surgeon.

That day, in that little hospital, full of incredibly wonderful people,  I had my mammogram, had an ultrasound, talked to the radiologist, met the surgeon and set up my first cancer surgery for 3 days later.  I met with the doctor I'd gone to when I'd found the lump and had my pre-op physical.  I met with a lady who helped me figure out what I was going to do since I had no insurance.  Not once did I have to walk down a hall or go through a door by myself that day.  The radiologist walked me to the surgeon.  The surgeon walked me to the doctor.  The doctor walked me back to the surgeon.  The surgeon even walked me to my car when I finally left to go home that day.  The techs held my hand, rubbed my back, sat beside me.  The nurses answered questions and  gave me phone numbers.  The office lady made phone calls and pointed me in the right direction to get my treatments paid for.

The next year, when I went back for my annual mammogram, the radiologist again came and talked to me after the test was finished.  Not to give me bad news, just to let me know that things were ok.  Every time I went back to that hospital for a mammogram, the radiologist talked to me after the test was complete. 

I had to go to St Luke's hospital in Cedar Rapids for a couple of breast MRI's, during the first year after my cancer treatments were finished.  After the first MRI, I had to have an ultrasound to check something that they thought that they saw.  And, you know what, a radiologist came into the room for the ultrasound and talked to me when it was finished and answered all of my questions when we were finished.  A radiologist talked to me after the 2nd MRI, too.

Those are examples of great communication with a patient!!!!  That little hospital in NW Iowa is by far the most professional and wonderful medical facility I have ever been to.  And I saw a lot of them!  Not once, in that little hospital, was I left wondering what was going on with my health.  I had the same experience at the large hospital of St Luke's in Cedar Rapids.  Great communication and I left there feeling like I knew what was going on.

Then I moved.  Last year I had my first mammogram in Keokuk.  And last year I had my last mammogram in Keokuk.  The tech performed the test, left the room, and came back to inquire if I knew if the doctor who ordered the test was in the office that afternoon, so that they could do an ultrasound.  I told her that I could certainly get ahold of him if she wanted me to  (I work for the man.).  She again left the room, only to come back and tell me that I could leave.  What?!  37 seconds ago you  were asking about doing an ultrasound and now you're sending me home!?  Why????  But, I got no answer and the regular radiologist for Keokuk was not available.  Things were ok, but why in the world did they have to scare me like that, then send me home?  And why didn't the radiologist who was there, lurking behind a door, talk to me and explain what was going on.  The only reason I know that things were ok is because I do work for the doctor who ordered the test.  I got nothing at all from the hospital telling me the results of the test one way or the other.

So, this year I decided to try a different place for my mammogram.  I have transferred my post cancer care to a doctor in Quincy, Il, so I decided to have my mammogram done there.  I called and talked to them and explained the situation.  I told them my history.  I told them where I'd had my last mammograms done.  I set up an appointment.  I took orders with me for an ultrasound, should one be needed after the mammogram, so that there wouldn't be a problem if the radiologist decided that he wanted one done.

The tech was nice enough, but until I told her, she didn't know that I'd ever had cancer.  The receptionist could have cared less that I had some doctor orders with me.  The tech took some extra pictures on the side that I haven't had cancer on, then told me that I was done.  AFTER the radiologist gets the previous mammograms from previous years, and AFTER he compares them, then they will let me know if there is any further testing that needs to be done.  Seriously????  Are you kidding me?  NOT the experience that I was looking for.  I can see, maybe, giving that type of experience to someone who had never had a thing show up wrong on a mammogram, but to treat someone that way who has had breast cancer, no way.  

I know that taking extra pictures may not mean a thing, but with my history, sending me out the door with out an explanation is horrible!!!  I am truly, seriously, ready to drive the 5 hours back to that little hospital in NW Iowa and have my mammograms done there.  I kid you not.  They know how to treat a gal up there, no matter what the end result might be.  A little bit of communication goes a long way and NW Iowa seems to have out distanced this part of the medical world in that respect.  I am not a happy mammogram camper today!

So, that was how I spent my Monday.  How was your's?   Oh yeah, and just because I'm not happy with how my mammograms have been handled the last couple of years, doesn't mean that I won't have them done.  And you know that you need to have one done, too!!!!  : )  Go schedule that test!!