MRIs
Tomorrow I have yet another brain MRI. It’ll be the first one since the craniotomy to remove the meningioma in October. It’s to make sure they got everything when they did the brain surgery.
It’ll be my 3rd MRI in the last 6 months (1: end of June, 2: early October, and 3: now end of December). It’ll be my 5th brain MRI in the last 2 years. And 6th MRI in 2 years, because I also had a back MRI in April 2024. Luckily that one found nothing wrong.
I’m tired of being imaged. And yes, I know many people probably need regular imaging for various health conditions. And I do have the incredible privilege of having health insurance, so we can afford the imaging. It’s just getting old.
Fun fact: every December MRI I’ve had has been free to me because I’ve reached my annual out of pocket max for health insurance before then. Our health insurance keeps raising the out of pocket max (for our whole plan, not just for me!), and every year my health says: Challenge accepted!!!
Mammograms
I also had my second routine screening mammogram a couple weeks ago (my first mammogram ever was in March 2023). That came back abnormal. So next week I get to have a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. 😡
Routine screenings wouldn’t be so bad, if they didn’t keep finding things wrong.
When I turned 40, my gynecologist asked if I wanted to go ahead and start annual mammogram screenings. There were guidelines from the US Preventive Services Task Force saying that screening was indicated at the age of 40. But it looks like that recommendation probably came with a note about engaging in shared decision-making with patients. I replied to her that I understood there was a pretty decent chance of false positives and given my anxiety levels I didn’t really want to start screening at that time. Would it be okay if I delayed? She was fine with that and agreed that we could delay until I turned 45.
It turns out my concerns about false positives were grounded. And I really wish that there was more talk in the public about false positives. Not in an effort to discourage women from screening. But so women are prepared and properly educated about what to expect. Instead we get constant messaging about mammograms save lives. Remember to get your annual mammogram.
“False-positive results are common, especially among younger women. They occur in 10-12% of mammograms in women 40-49 years of age. After 10 years of annual screenings, 50-60% of women can expect at least one false-positive and 7-12% at least one false-positive with a biopsy recommendation.”
Link to the UC Davis article I quoted above.
The article goes on to say:
“It’s important to understand that most women recalled for additional imaging due to a finding on a screening mammogram do not have breast cancer,” [Study’s lead author Diana Miglioretti, chief of the UC Davis Division of Biostatistics] said. “They should try not to be worried if they are recalled for additional work-up. It is a normal and common part of the screening process.”
From the University of Rochester:
“Of all women who receive regular mammograms, about 10 percent will get called back for further testing and of those, only about 0.5 percent will be found to have cancer.” (Link to the website)
That feels like a very poor specificity rate for a population-level screening test. Surely someone can develop something with a lower false positive rate than our current mammogram technology!! My finding had the fun name of “focal asymmetry.”
My take home of the last few years is: The more you look for things, the more you find.
As I said in my recent post about time (link), there’s been some challenges this year. The above items barely scratch the surface.
Wishing you peace in your day.
May your movement through time be peaceful.
May you experience love and joy along the way.
May your rough/bad moments be balanced with good and grounding ones.
Sending love to all of you 💜🙏🌍
My somewhat related song selection!
“Could you take my picture?
‘Cause I won’t remember”
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