Why don't men have to go through this?

On Wednesday of this week, I went in for my first-ever mammogram... WHEE! My question is why don't men have to go through a similar non-invasive check (like having their balls put in the same contraption)? I had my well-woman check on the first of May and my Dr gave me the form for a baseline mammogram. I went on Wednesday. I had no problem with the "nekkid" part of it, but having my boobies squished in a giant machine, that sucked. My boobies really REALLY hurt. Then, the tech had to do a second picture on my left boobie since the first one didn't turn out right. Yeah, another chance to get my boobie stuffed into a steel and plastic vice... Fun stuff! Worked on my shadow shawl in the waiting room while I was waiting for results. The second picture of the left boobie turned out just fine and I would be getting the results in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Today, I got a phone call. I have a second mammogram appointment set up for a week from Monday at a different office. Apparently, they found an abnormality in my right breast. Now, I do monthly checks and I haven't felt anything. It was strange, I was driving to work after my first mammogram and I had this feeling like something wasn't right and they might find something. (So either I am psychic or I am really in-tune with my body.) The lovely woman on the phone was trying to be very reassuring that the second exam is usually OK (with no problems found) and that the cancer Dr here in town is having great sucess with lumpectomies and that the screenings being done at this office have resulted in VERY early detection so that the Dr has not had to perform very many masectomies. She told me that this appointment will take about 90 mins (rather than the 30 mins for the first one) and that they will explain in detail what they found on the first exam, what is found at the second exam and what will happen after that.

A little background: At my first post-partum check-up after I had my son (who is now a 17 year old man), the Dr found some abnormal cells during my PAP smear. (Family history: Grandma died at the age of 58 from Overian cancer, I have 2 aunts with hysterectomies from cancer. Mom is the only one in the family with her uterus still intact). Upon further review, they found I had the beginnings of cervical cancer. They froze my cervix, cut out the offending cells, and I have not had a reoccurance since then. This is why I faithfully go for my yearly well-woman checks.

What does this mean? One of two things will happen. First thing would be that all is OK with the second exam and I have nothing to worry about. Second thing would be that they find something wrong. If that is the case, it's early! It would also give me some time off of work to play with dyeing yarn (now THAT is a plus!) If it is found, I look at it this way, I beat it before, I can beat it again! I have a feeling in my gut that it will be the second option, hopefully I am REALLY wrong about that!

So, to all of you women who read my blog, DO YOUR MONTHLY CHECKS and GET YOUR MAMMOGRAMS!!! I love every one of you and want you to be here with us for a LONG TIME!

Dye-O-Rama Meme

OK, I play follow the leader A LOT... So, here is my Dye-O-Rama Meme:

Your favorite colors? Purple, blue, pink
Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? Fingering or sport
Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? Multi-colored
If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? Doesn't matter which one
Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)? Would prefer wool/nylon or wool/silk
Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? I don't know, it would depend on the colors I use for the colorway...
What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? Learning to dye yarn

General yarn/fiber questions:
Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? Not before this
If so, what’s your favorite dye and method? Acid Dye
Do you spin? No
Have you knit socks before? Oh Yeah!
Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? I use sock yarn for other patterns too!
What are some of your favorite yarns? STR, Lorna's Laces, Opal, Regia Silk
What yarn do you totally covet? Lorna's Laces
Favorite patterns? None, I like to make it up as I go
Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? No
Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? Addi Turbo 24" circulars
If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? 100% silk

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:
Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Dove Milk Chocolate
What’s your favorite animal? Cats
Do you have pets? Yes
What are their species/names/ages? OK, from the top... Dog/Puma/8 yrs old, Dog/Roxie/2 yrs old, Iguana/Gorgo/7 years old, Canary/Godzilla/6 months old, Fish/a bunch/various ages, Cat/Ziggy/15 yrs old, Cat/Killer Shrew/13 years old, Cat/Entropy/7 years old, Cat/Maus/5 years old, Cat/Mewstrodamas/3 years old, Cat/Boris/3 years old, Cat/Fromage/3 years old, Cat/Natasha/3 years old, Cat/Dust Bunny/2 years old, Cat/Ashley/2 - 3 years old, Cat/Tabitha/3 - 4 years old
If you were a color what color would you be? Blue
Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s).. My Scooby Doo Shirt that says "Here comes trouble" on the front and "There goes trouble" on the back
What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? Mother Ocean
Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read. "You don't have a clue. You couldn't get a clue if you were wearing clue musk in a field of horney clues and doing the clue mating dance".
Do you have a wishlist? Nope
Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? Is it Friday yet??? ;-)

Not much going on in life... I dyed my first "test dye" on yarn... I hate how it turned out :-P So, I learned some lessons about choices of colors. I will probably play with my other color choices sometime this weekend! Self striping yarn is fun to do :-) I will start dying handpainted yarn for sale after I am done with my Dye-O-Rama buddy's yarn. I just ordered a whole bunch of dye and will see where I go from there. My yarn is going to be called "Moo Kitty Paw Prints" and I will be donating part of the proceeds from the yarn to ACAT, a no-kill organization helping cats here in Albuquerque. I have come to the realization that I can't save all of the kitties who need homes, so I will help them try to save the kitties!

Does anyone know how to contact Henry's Attic for wholesale yarn? I didn't see anything on the internet and would like to order some yarn from them....

Yeah, I know...

I should be much better about my blogging, but life seems to keep getting in the way... We all know how that goes...

Yes, I made it home in good shape. I really needed that vacation and after 1 week at work, I need another one... BLEH! Right now, I have a TO DO list at work that is growing longer by the minute and the headache that started yesterday at about 2pm is getting worse also. It's not a killer migraine, but it's enough for me to notice it while trying to work. We had a class last week called Human Dynamics. At first, I figured this would be one of those useless classes, but it turned out to be one of the best things I have ever done in my life! In those 2 days, I learned so much about myself, how I work and how to communicate with others who are a different dynamic. My cool discoveries? First, my emotional well being is tied directly to my physical well being. Yup, that is why I have stress migraines. Another really cool discovery is that I can feel other people's emotional state. It was weird, 2 days after I took the class, we had a couple of meetings back to back where there was a lot of bad news handed down. At the end of the second meeting, I could REALLY feel everyone else's stress and fear and it was starting to affect me! I left, found a conference room, knitted and did some meditations to clear my head. I came back to work fine after that. I never realized how much everyone else had been affecting me and that I don't have to own THEIR emotional reactions as my own if I do not want to (another startling revelation). The last thing, I realized that whenever something bad happens, I tend to blame myself first when that may not be the case. The message from the class I got was be aware, don't get into other people's muck (unless you want to) and detatch from the situation and ask questions to get objective... No kidding, the class was a freaking life changing experience! (BTW, the current headache is from sugar withdrawls...)

Now for the fun stuff! I have my warping board, I have my dye, I have my masks, I have my scrubs and lab coat, utensils, table cover, I am ready to do the DEED! I picked up some practice yarn at Village Wools on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weekend went by way too quickly and I didn't have a chance to play. Last night, I wound my first ball on the warping board and got the sections tied off. I am letting it hang in hubby's office to straighten a little bit (his office is also a cat free zone) and I am hoping to play with the dye on Wednesday!

The Shadow Shawl is really a lot of fun! I have the chevron stripes set up and am into the middle of it... SO easy to pick up and do! My socks are patiently waiting for me to finish the shawl!