I've had mammos & pap smears every year since my late 20's due to family history. Been large & small breasted (due to weight at times); didn't really notice a difference in terms of pain.

I've found mammos to be momentarily unpleasant (not painful, although that could vary by person) & beats the alternative - ie, not having one & possibly missing something. I'm not overly fond of doctors but I'm less fond of cancer.

Having said that, self-exam is equally important & even mammos can miss, which is why exams are important.

I love it when the techs tell you to hold your breath when they're still walking to the machine & haven't turned it on - tell me when you're ready to flip the switch!

I've had both x-ray & digital mammos - still need to be 'mashed' for digital, although can't remember if you have to hold your breath.

missy, my ob/gyn knows i travel a lot (so does he) & usually during annual exam/pap smear we talk travel - although he's never asked me about travel vouchers! He was head of ob/gyn & UCLA (is fabulous) and alas, Stanford just stole him away. Their gain; our loss.

BTW - oncology is one of his areas of expertise & I have to tell you, when you see some of the women in the waiting room that you can tell have cancer, undergoing a momentary bit of discomfort seems like a small thing to do (and is). If getting a mammo can help catch something hopefully in the early stage I'm all for it.

And if I were a mother I would definitely get one - who wants to leave their children to grow up alone.

I had to have 2 surgical biopsies & when you come out of anaethesia the best news (in my case) is it's ok. But going through something like those also re-affirms the importance of staying on top of taking care of our health.

And that's true whether it's mammos, paps, colonoscopies (haven't had one of those), keeping weight in check, not smoking, drinking moderately (except at FT Dos of course!), etc.

PS - they'll tell you not to wear deoderant before your mammo as that can screw up the mammo.

Good luck - let us know how it goes. Cheers.