You go in for your routine squish. A week later you get a letter that says, “We need to see you again.” Again? Your heart drops into your stomach. Suddenly you’re Googling symptoms at 2 AM, convinced you’ve got six weeks to live.
Challenging Convention: Why I Refuse to Get an Annual Screening Mammogram
And then you go back for more squishing. Maybe even a biopsy. And 90% of the time, it’s nothing. Ninety percent! That’s a lot of unnecessary anxiety for a “nothing.” I’m not sure my mental health can handle that emotional rollercoaster every three years.
Plus, let’s talk about overdiagnosis. The NHS itself says mammograms can find cancers that would never have caused harm. So you get treated for something that was never going to bother you. That’s not prevention; that’s a gamble with unnecessary surgery or chemo.
But wait, isn’t it the responsible thing to do?
That’s the guilt trip, isn’t it? The “think of your family” speech. I get it. I really do. Cancer is terrifying. Losing a loved one to it is unspeakable. But I also have a friend who went for every screening, ate kale, and still got stage 3 breast cancer.
It made me realise: mammograms aren’t a forcefield. They’re a snapshot. They miss some cancers (especially in dense breasts). And they find others that are harmless. It’s not a perfect system. It’s a messy, imperfect system that demands I bare my chest to a stranger and get compressed.
NHS Breast Screening | Research News | Prevent Breast Cancer
So why am I opting out? Because I know my own body. I check myself. I know what “normal” feels like. I’m not burying my head in the sand. I’m choosing to be aware without being screened. Call me a rebel. Or call me a realist.
