The Exam

not my screen...but a very close shatter pattern

So, it's been quite the week here at Casa Knight - it's release week, which means I get all AHHHHHH and EEEEEEEE at the drop of a hat. You can read all about my TWO new releases, Light My Fire and Start Me Up, here.

I shattered my iPhone screen, which meant I had long and intense moments of physical pain because my favorite can't-feel-pain device had a boo-boo. Side note: check with local shops because some of them can replace a shattered/cracked screen...and it's way cheaper than replacing a whole phone.

It's my birthday tomorrow, cue more sounds of AHHHHHH and EEEEEEEE and CaaaaaaaaaaaaaaKE!

Oh, and I had my first mammogram. A 'first' I've been dreading since my chest developed at the ripe age of 5. Okay, maybe not five but early. And there was a lot of development. I mean, a lot. So when I'd hear my mom or aunts talking about self-exams or the dreaded pain of the mammo's I would automatically look at my chest and think, 'they're going to squish all that flat? How is that going to work?'

Courtesy Cancer.gov

But, like all things we dread, the mammo turned out not to be such a big deal. I mean, I didn't fall to the floor writhing in pain because my boob was squished flat between a cold stainless steel table and a clear plastic casing. I did look at my squished boobs and think, 'wow, they really are big. RadioMan's a lucky guy.' (I may have said that out loud, too, and made the tech giggle.) I did feel...not pain but pressure when the tech was tightening the two squishers together.

But mostly what I felt was relief, and I don't even have the results back. Relief because I have health insurance and don't have to worry about the cost of a mammo. Relief because I've been doing self-exams practically since I developed and have never felt anything odd; neither did my doctor when he did the physical exam, and yet because this is a preventative measure I can still have a mammo.

There are a ton of tips for self-exams, etc, here.

So, here's my message: don't be afraid of the mammogram, girls. Even if the reason you're getting one isn't purely preventative. Because the mammo won't hurt so much as be an annoyance, and early detection is the key. You know how some 'cool' moms do a whole circle-of-life, coming-of-age thing when a girl first gets her period? Yeah, my mom didn't do one of those for me. But I kind of feel like we should all have one of those moments now, because mammograms are a big deal (although not a painful deal), and maybe if we embrace the moment it doesn't have to be so scary. So, tell me something you've been dreading or tell me about your first mammogram...maybe sharing will help lighten your load.