I had one of those “oh crap! I forgot to adult!” moments just before Thanksgiving. Here I was, feeling so thankful, posting all kinds of warm, fuzzy photos to Instagram and then… it hit me. I had forgotten to get a mammogram. Not just a one-time, “oops that’s right, I’ll do it now” kind of forgetting. I literally forgot that mammograms were a thing. I forgot to have one for FIVE YEARS.
That’s right, an otherwise apparently functional, health-wise adult – aka me – forgot to go get a mammogram for approximately five years even though the recommendation for women of my (certain) age is to have one annually. How could I have been so stupid?!
I’m sharing my stupidity because I hope my experience will jolt someone else and prompt you to go get a mammogram!
In my defense, I had put it out of my mind because I thought there were systems in place to remind me to get this done. I assumed that my doc would tell me it was time, or that I would get an email or letter in the mail, or that I would be prompted by one or more health apps on my phone. Alas, none of these things happened until this year when I started seeing a new OB/GYN practitioner and she noted that I’m behind on a few things. She’s been catching me up on everything, and I had my mammogram (four years late!) just before Thanksgiving. I even had a bit of a scare – there was a small “mass” detected – but a subsequent ultrasound showed it to be a benign cyst. Thank GOD.
Anyway, I had a small, momentary health scare that could have been a much bigger deal. I’m grateful and will renew my energies toward eating clean and healthy (yay Whole 30! I’m about to finish up my successful second round this week!) and making sure I stay on top of regular health screenings like mammograms.
It just goes to show that while moms are great at taking care of those in our care, we sometimes fall down when it comes to keeping our own sh*t together. Am I right!? But yikes – that was a bad one on my part. I now have a calendar reminder set to pop up annually and remind me to schedule that mammogram.
Tell me about something you’ve forgotten to do lately for your own self care, so I don’t feel like such a moron! I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below or over on Facebook. And ladies over 40 – please go schedule that annual mammogram if you haven’t already done so!
