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breast MRI (aka: the downward dog style dangling boob adventure)

Finally, it's MRI time!

By the end of the week, I was finally getting my MRI. This test is the one I feel like will give me a better, and more detailed, glimpse into what is going on with my lymph nodes. It will also show if there is some missed lump lingering within the tissue of my boobs.

It has been a while, but I completely remember how the breast MRI goes. It is one of those test that linger in your mind because they are so awkward, and for me, funny. If you read my posts back in 2013, the MRI process hasn't changed. And I came in ready to "moo" some humor for the nurses (just keep reading).

Here is the Standard (& Somewhat Boring) MRI with Contrast Process

  • Fill out Paperwork
  • Changed into gown
  • Wait a Little
  • Nurse starts an IV (for me, it can only be in my left arm due to Lymphedema)
  • Placed on MRI table (face down, face & ankles supported by pillows, & given headphones with music - sometimes ear plugs too)
  • MRI table goes into MRI machine
  • Have the MRI
    • clank, bang, alarm, boom (Super Noisy)
    • headache inducing beating sounds blaring above the 80s headphone music (Did I mention Super Noisy?)
    • hold breath for a bit or two
  • MRI comes out of MRI machine
  • Get off MRI table (Carefully)
  • Change back into clothes
  • Leave

Those things are the basic steps of any MRI (with contrast), but the breast MRI has it's own uniqueness. Of course, the main thing is that your breasts are going to be out and hanging. You do not lay on your back. You get to be breast down! It gets good...

You lay on your stomach in a downward dog style position while your breasts dangle between two holes exposed while your face is pressed into a massage type round cushion.

Basically, your boobs literally hang and as the table lifts and glides into the MRI machine, so do the swinging breasts attached to your body. 

And if needed, the nurses will adjust your breasts like a milk cow. So, if you have a great sense of humor like me... you have to say "moo" when they do!

Tests don't have to be all bad - you can make them fun - even these very awkward testing moments!

I will say out of all the scans MRIs are slightly long and very annoying. However, they have been one of the most accurate tests I have had.

In My Head...

I did have one of those moments where you think back and realize a moment you wish you had responded or could have used as a teachable moment. Here is one for all the nurses out there. When I mentioned I was still waiting on my Her2 results and said I was either Triple Negative or Her2+ Breast Cancer the nurse got a very upset face and said, "Don't say Triple Negative around here, we don't want to hear those words. That is not the kind of cancer we like here." This might be a bad idea to express so openly... just in case a person ends up with Triple Negative. I did say upfront that I might be Triple Negative, so I have the possibility that it is my cancer type (and I actually found out soon after I am Triple Negative). She didn't mean it badly, but I thought - yikes, that is not reassuring.


In Honor of the Breast MRI Position

This is a Post with the Most - Learn How to Do a Downward Dog


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