Tuesday, August 15, 2006

What is this?

Take a guess and tell me what you think this is. Send me a comment by clicking on the "comment" button. I get to moderate comments, so I won't publish it if it seems too private or personal. Are you done guessing yet? Now, if you're a woman, you should be able to guess what the image is. Kind of looks like a moon on the horizon, doesn't it? OK, I'll let you in on it. It's my mammogram from today. The technician let me have it since she considered it a "reject" (she retook the same shot to get more detail in a specific area). It's kinda cool. I love xray images. For awhile (I think it was in the late '60's), one of our neighbors was a lab technician (Mrs. Fisher) at Moloka'i General Hospital. Since my mom was a school teacher, she would bring home piles of xray images and we'd soak them in a baking soda and water solution to get the emulsion off and end up with clear plastic. Mom would use that as an art supply for her class. Back then, we didn't know that the residue that was washed off was toxic for the environment (it went into our septic). As a result of these images finding their way to our home, I became fascinated with them. Chest xrays, radial and tibias that I had no idea who they belonged to. Seemed like most of the images were of chest and pelvic areas. Mrs. Fisher loved to bake and she would often bring a warm cake with icing dripping all over it to our home for all 6 of us to devour. Immediately. Warm cake should wait for no one! Back to the mammogram...I've had the same person do my mammogram for at least 11 years. Amazing, huh? So, if you're a female over 45 years of age and this image was totally unrecognizable, please imagine me shaking my finger at you! Once a year, ladies. Get it done. Don't tell me that life gets in the way. If you let it get in the way, it will be taken away from you prematurely. Breast cancer caught early has such a positive prognosis as opposed to much later in the game. If you do get one once a year, good for you! Just don't let that date become overdue. Even 6 months can make a world of a difference. And, last but not least, don't forget the monthly SE (self exam). Pick your birthdate and do it when you shower. How easy is that?

1 comment:

Patricia J. Mosca said...

What a fabulous post...great image..
Thank you for reminding everyone...I just added you to my IMT links!!

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