A Friendly Reminder to Schedule Your Mammogram
Maybe like me, you’re dreaming about 2021 and hoping it will offer a little more peace and a lot more freedom from the fears that have plagued us all this year. There will likely be some fallout from the events of this last twelve months around the sun and, while I resolutely have hope for the future, I also want to be practical about dealing with the realities of the present.
There have been so many reasons why 2020 has been hard and in addition to all we’ve been asked to endure, many women are also discovering that breast cancer has been added to their list of burdens.
Tennessee’s cancer statistics show that there have been nearly 5700 new breast cancer diagnoses in 2020. Those numbers multiply as you look at statistics across the country, with 279,100 new breast cancer diagnoses just this year.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I felt pretty sure it had only been a year and a half since my last mammogram, but when I went in for my appointment, it had actually been three years. I had no idea that much time had passed since my last screening.
It’s so easy to let time slip by and forget to make that appointment, and in a year as “unprecedented” as 2020 has been, it’s even more likely for that to happen. Distracted by the many things this year has included, many women have put off their annual mammograms or simply avoided imaging centers because of fears related to Covid-19.
It’s so important to be screened annually, so please don’t wait to get your mammogram until the virus concerns have passed. If you or someone you love has been putting off getting screened this year because of concerns about the virus, I would encourage you to call your local imaging center to find out how they’re keeping patients safe in light of Covid-19. Odds are, they’re already doing a great job making sure that you’ll be protected when you come in for your mammogram.
Need help finding a mammography center? Check here: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfMQSA/mqsa.cfm