"Mammograms"

In November 2024 I was called for a regular mammogram at the Parapets in Windsor . When I attended I was scanned by a very pleasant lady who I knew had only left her role in another profession less than a year ago. I found it slightly unsettling as I presumed I would be scanned by a qualified radiographer, as I had been on previous occasions, not an associate with  one year of training. I was informed that I would have the results in 7-14 days. 

After 14 days I had not received any notification so I rang the Parapets and was answered by a very abrupt receptionist who informed me that it could be at least another 7-14 days, as my scans had not even been read yet, as they had trouble with a machine and 2 radiographers had just retired. 

Some 14 days later a letter finally arrived informing me that I had to return to the Parapets for more mammograms, ultra sound, 3D scans and possibly biopsies in a couple of weeks.   Needless to say that having waited 4 weeks already I was extremely worried and decided to have my Parapet mammogram scans sent over to a private provider who I saw the next day. Neither the private consultant or the radiographer could find anything on the original mammograms or on the ultrasound scans carried out by the private radiographer. 

Under duress I returned to the Parapets some two weeks later to have the 3D scans (equipment the private provider couldn’t provide) and another ultra sound, and once again nothing could be found. 

On the day I had to attend for the second appointment at the Parapets I arrived some 15 mins early at 8.45 for a 9.00 appointment and all three patients including myself, were left outside on a very cold wet December day, while numerous staff moved around inside in the warm, until the door was unlocked at precisely 9.00. 

I was at the Parapets for almost three hours with only three patients attending in the waiting room throughout that time and I had actual contact with staff for at the most 25 mins. One radiographer tried to insist I had a mammogram when I had already been told by a consultant (and the Parapets informed) that I needed a 3D scan, which I found unsettling as we all try to limit radiation exposure. One of the other patients was left in the waiting room sobbing her heart out and was offered no support at all, which I felt was totally unnecessary and cruel. 

While I can appreciate that staff are under considerable pressure, I found the whole experience totally unacceptable which left me no longer trusting the system and deeply troubled. Had I had a tumour I would have been left for a total of almost 6 weeks before I was even put on a cancer pathway. I also found it worrying that two qualified radiographers independently  found on a mammogram, two tumours in the same part of my breast, when no one else could find them on the original mammograms of subsequent tests/scans. 

I can only hope in three years time when I have my next mammogram, that new scanning technology and AI can reinstall my trust in the “system”.