I went for a dreaded annual screening this morning. I don't know any woman who does not find her mammogram to be extremely uncomfortable, if not downright painful. So often I've heard comments that if men had to have any of their sensitive parts compressed every year, the technology would be completely different. Maybe, but here we are.
This morning, though, my appointment was in the brand-new, state-of-the-art Outpatient Pavillion on the hospital campus, a building that only opened three weeks ago. Parking was a breeze; electronic signs and signals indicated how many spaces were free and where they were. There was a passage from the garage right into the building, and the Women's Imaging Center was located right inside. I checked in on an electronic kiosk that asked if I'd like to set up biometric verification to speed my future appointments. They even validated my parking before showing me right into the new changing rooms.
The technicians there have always been professional, kind, and friendly, and this morning was no exception. My mammographer showed me into the screening room and explained that they were using a new machine. One improvement was that instead of making me move and get squished 8 times, the machine itself moved, so that I only needed to be adjusted twice on each side. The other big change? An automatic release! As soon as the image was complete, the plates opened and freed my aching boob. The entire procedure took about 5 minutes.
It was still uncomfortable, to be sure, but it didn't hurt a bit.
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