Several Bosom Pals members attended a coffee morning in August at Fujifilm in Bedford where Amanda Leitch, a mammographer and Women’s Health Specialist at Fujifilm Healthcare UK gave an interesting presentation.

Breast screening has been proven to significantly enhance outcomes for patients by facilitating early detection but there are still individuals who opt out of attending these crucial screenings. Fujifilm therefore organised the coffee morning, inviting local interested parties to discuss ideas on how this issue can be rectified.

The general opinion was that there was a need for greater education about mammograms, especially for first time attendees, to increase the awareness of the importance of regular screenings, the significance of early detection, and the potential life-saving impact of timely medical intervention so that more ladies are encouraged to prioritise their health and well-being. There is a need to dispel misconceptions and fears surrounding breast examinations to encourage women to proactively engage in preventative healthcare measures.

Some attendees are not happy when the mammographer, who is always a female, touches their breasts but this is necessary to position them correctly; also some people experience discomfort when pressure is applied to facilitate the taking of the X-Ray. Any discomfort is short-lived and does not usually necessitate the taking of any pain killers.

Our members know only too well that early detection is key to our well-being. We should all encourage our female friends, relatives and work colleagues to attend for their mammograms. Together we can support each other through education, awareness and compassion.

After the presentation, we were shown a mammography machine which allows the mammographer to make sure that the breasts are in exactly the same position as the previous mammogram. This makes it easier to detect any changes and being smaller, is perhaps less daunting to the patient.

There was a follow-up evening session in October when Cheryl Cruwys, European Education Co-ordinator of Dense Breast Info gave an illustrated presentation on dense breast tissue. Dense breast tissue is more common in ladies over 50 which is the age group in which 80% of breast cancers occur. Their website is densebreast-info.org if you wish to look for more information on this subject.

This was followed by “going behind the scenes” and seeing some mammograms where it was explained how two trained members of staff independently examine each and every mammogram looking for signs of any abnormalities.

We are extremely grateful to Fujifilm for inviting Bosom Pals to these two events