In a message dated 3/27/2000 11:41:04 AM Eastern Standard Time,
fanofbo@... writes:

<< Am I the only one that completely panics before a mammography or pap
test? >>

I can definitely say you are not alone. The pap test doesn't bother me as
much as the mammography test does. I have lupus anticoagulant and am on
coumadin for lifetime therapy. The least abrupt pressure on my skin causes
major bruising. Besides being painful in itself, mammography causes me to
bruise. When I read in several medical reports that mammography does NOT
save lives where breast cancer is concerned, I opted to not get these tests
anymore until they can come up with a way to make them less painful or
damaging.

Oh I can hear the protests and admonitions already! But you know what? I
don't care. There has never been a person in my family with breast cancer.
In fact, I can't remember anyone in my family, on either side, who ever had
cancer. So I will continue to turn down the tests.

Joyce