The Buddy System

On Girls' Day Out, most women indulge in activities like tea and manicures. My friends and I? We go for mammograms.

Let me back up.

A few months ago, I discovered a couple of breast lumps. Although my nurse practitioner felt strongly that they were nothing more than cysts, she wanted me to have a mammogram to be sure and she urged me not to become complacent and put it off.

I put it off.

Some time later, at a party, my friend An and I were admiring Julie's new pink bra. We do things like that. Bras led to breasts, which led to my cysts and now overdue mammogram.

"Oh," sighed Julie, "I have lots of those cysts and my doctor told me to get a mammogram, but I've been putting it off."

"Oh," moaned An, "I'm about to be 40, and that's when you are supposed to start having them regularly, but I've been putting it off."

Light bulb.

"Why don't we all go together?" I suggested.

You see, mammograms are a big mystery, especially if you've never had one. They're scary and they hurt, or so we've heard. What better way to tackle this brand-new experience? Everything is more fun in a group, and we can all hold each other's hands.

The plan immediately appealed to our mutual sense of the absurd. And after a bit of bewilderment on the part of the American Breast Center, I made three appointments.

The big day arrived, and only Julie bailed out at the last minute; her doctor didn't want her to have a mammogram just yet. Lucky dog, we grumbled, a little disappointed at the breakdown of our plan. But wait, she would still have to get one in the near future! "We'll go with you then, anyway," we promised.

Once at the Pasadena branch of the breast center, the family history form-filling process took just long enough for us to amuse the people behind the desk.

"Will you hold our hands?" I asked one technician.

"No," she replied, "because we can't stretch across the room from the switch."

Meanwhile, An, who designs her own jewelry, was working the room, arranging for another employee to buy some of her homemade earrings.

Next, An and I were separated as we were sent off with Silvana and Susan, respectively, our techs for the morning. Susan took me to a small cubicle, where she asked questions about the problem areas in my breasts, gently touching the spots I indicated. She was pleased I wasn't bashful.

"That can be a big problem," she said.