Mammogram Blues

I'm not completely sure of the point to this post; perhaps there are many.

1. Don't have a mammogram on a Friday.
2. Don't borrow trouble.
3. Don't take what people say so seriously; they are usually just casual, insignificant comments.
4. Being a doctor and having your health care provided where you work is a mixed blessing; in other words, knowing how to access ones own records can bring unnecessary angst.

I had a miserable day today waiting for the result of my mammogram done last Friday. All weekend long I worried because the report wasn't out by Friday afternoon. The clinic where I work is amazing; reports are available within hours of the test. There are very few delays on blood work or Xrays. Have a test done in the morning; get the result by the end of the same day. Unless....unless, there is something wrong or the study needs to be repeated, reviewed by a second person for verification or any of a host of other reasons.

When I had the study done Friday at 1 PM, I expected by day's end to have the result. Instead, I had to wait till today (poor me, you say....how spoiled we insiders get in the medical profession) and played over and over in my mind what the technician said to me after she finished processing my films. "Let me just verify your phone number so the doctor can contact you if there are any problems." I've never been asked that before and since the images were right up there on the screen for her review, I felt certain she had seen something amiss. I could have asked but that's being too pushy and out of line. I would just wait for the report later Friday afternoon.

The report never came and as I checked all through the weekend what I got all 10 times was "results pending". Eeech! I know waaaaay too much and I got waaaaay out of line in my thinking.

Part of the issue is that I have had 2 breast biopsies (benign) but breast cancer does run in the family. I'm ever faithful about breast self exam and show up annually for my mammogram. But, I always have a spike in the old anxiety titer whenever those films are finished and I'm waiting for the results.

My primary care doc forwarded me the report by email this afternoon and all is well. A huge sigh and a mental note to do my mammograms in the future on a Monday through Thursday. Weekends make for a back log that is intolerable for an impatient person like myself.

Sound odd? I know. But we docs get like this, for better or for worse with our own medical care. That's why most docs don't like taking care of other docs (or nurses). We know way too much but not enough to keep us grounded and realistic. We are pains in the ass sometimes. This time, I kept quiet and the angst was all my own. It sure was a relief to know everything was OK after traveling down ever so scary roads in the dark parts of my mind.