“Hold your breath,” the technician states.
Without the noise of my breathing, the whirring of the machine sounds louder. After a few seconds that seem like endless minutes, the machine lifts as if it has heard my prayers; it frees my breast from its unwelcome grasp. The process is repeated as my right breast undergoes the same procedure.
I fear mammograms—not because the pain is intolerable, but because I have had four biopsies based on mammogram findings. The first occurred when I was twenty-seven years old, the mother of a one-year-old. The last took place sixteen years ago, when I was fifty-four. Each biopsy involved an outpatient visit to the hospital, the dreaded intravenous needle, and the angst-filled days of waiting until the final lab tests arrived: benign.
What a lovely word benign is! Yet, as I prepare for my annual mammogram, I cannot ignore the fear that spreads throughout my mind and body: What if? What if this year’s results are the ones I dread?
Ronna Edelstein
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2 thoughts on “What If”
After coming from the Charities Pirate game which raises money to help cancer patients and seeing the thousands of adults and children with signs supporting cancer victims, i find this article especially poignant and relevant. As a man i never realized the cold and painful sensations experienced.As Ronna writes it is natural to dread the worst scenarios.The passage about “beautiful benign” is my favorite. Well done!
Thank you, Artie; I appreciate–as always–your kind words.