Strange Ideas

Wow!  I ran into another one!  Where do people get these strange ideas that they are so certain are factual.

Today I was at another farmers’ market with information on free mammograms.  An elderly man approached me and wanted to know why I was offering free mammograms.  His initial question didn’t raise any suspicions with me, because I often talk to people who are just curious.  I responded that women without insurance often need help in paying for a mammogram.  I was about to point out that we also offer colorectal testing for men, but he interrupted me.

He asked me why I thought women “needed” mammograms.  Ah, yes…his tone made my antennae begin to tingle.  I replied, “Oh, you want to argue with me, don’t you?  I do not want to argue.”

He then launched into a lengthy monologue on the supposed evils of mammograms.  He stated that only human mammals get breast cancer, because only humans get mammograms.  In other words, he was saying that mammograms cause breast cancer. There was no opportunity for me to interject anything factual, because he continued by describing a TV program he had seen.  He claimed to be well informed on the subject, and said that the radiation in an MRI is equivalent to being exposed to a nuclear explosion.  Oh, my.

When he finally paused and came up for air, I tried to preface some facts by lending myself some credibility.  I told him that I was an RN, had a degree in chemistry and had a Master’s degree, and….

Before I could go further, he told me to take my diplomas and wipe my A** with them.  Nice guy.

I said, “Good-bye” and turned to face a different direction.

So….just in case you care:

*other mammals, including dogs and cats, do get breast cancer.  In fact, the rate in dogs is three times that in humans.

*men can get breast cancer, and they don’t get mammograms.

*a woman who has never had a mammogram and doesn’t do self-breast exams, typically finds the lump when it is the size of a golf ball.  It can already be cancerous when she discovers it,  prior to a mammogram.

*mammograms are NOT the same thing as MRIs.  The lowest possible amount of radiation is used to visualize the breast during a mammogram.

*even an MRI doesn’t expose you to as much radiation as a nuclear blast…..well, I suppose it might if you are talking about a nuclear blast that is on the opposite side of the planet.  You would have to have some specifics as to your distance from the epicenter before you started throwing “facts” like that around.  (Actually an MRI doesn't expose you to any radiation.  It doesn't use x-rays to create the image.)

Sometimes it is hard to know whether to laugh or cry.  On the bright side, about a dozen people thanked me today for what I was doing, and shortly after the nasty encounter, a cute little boy with hair sticking up in every direction grinned at me and waved as he passed by.