Making your Moments Count
What can you do in fifteen minutes? You can take your dog for a short walk. You can drop your kids off for soccer practice. You can load the washing machine. You can send a work email. What can you do to take care of yourself? What do you still have the energy to do? Have you taken time to do what really matters?
Picture yourself at the end of a long day when everyone and everything is settled and you finally have a minute to breathe, the last thing you want to think about is when you are due for your annual mammogram. You think to yourself can’t it wait until next month? You are so incredibly busy. Then you remember your family history and decide that you will call in the morning. The next morning comes and you wake up the kids, cook breakfast, make sure your hair and makeup look their best and out the door you frantically run. After arriving at work, it seems like just five minutes have passed when you realize it is time for lunch. You stop to take a short break and think to yourself, “don’t forget to call after work and schedule my mammogram”. Your workday ends and you rush out to pick up the kids, make supper, and drop everyone off at their multiple activities. Next thing you know it’s late and scheduling your mammogram will have to wait until tomorrow.
When you finally remember to call the next morning. You take a quick moment to call so you won’t forget. Then, you breathe sigh of relief, your appointment is finally scheduled. Finally, after work (between cooking and laundry) you stop to write your appointment down on the calendar. Your appointment is on Friday. You remind yourself to ask for a few minutes off from work to get the mammogram done.
Now it’s Wednesday and you remember to ask for the time off. You are finally set! When Friday comes, you get everyone off to school and work then head over to the mammography center. You walk in and are seen quickly and out the door and to work. You are only 30 minutes later than your normal arrival time. You have an overwhelming sense of completeness. Your mammogram is finally done for another year and you have done a something good for yourself. That was 15 minutes well spent.
A few days later, your results come in the mail and everything is good. You think to yourself, “I am glad that is done!” You are that there are no signs of breast cancer. You are glad you didn’t let your busy life get in the way of your health. After all, if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of my loved ones.
1 in 8 women will get breast cancer sometime in their lifetime. As mammographers, the common response from patients as to why they wait to have their mammogram is “I didn’t have time.” Please take time for yourself. Breast cancer is very treatable and most often curable if caught early. This is a reminder that we are all important to someone. Take care of yourself and do your annual screenings.
To help with your busy schedule, The Breast Center at Midland Health is open Monday through Friday from 7am to 5pm and Saturday from 8am to 12pm. Please take just a minute of your precious time to take care of yourself and call to schedule your mammogram. Our scheduling number is 432-221-2300.