I'm 41 with no family history of breast cancer. I'm with Kaiser and they do not require mammograms at this age. I had done my research and decided to wait until I was 45-47 unless something happened sooner to make me feel like I need one. But the bariatric surgeon told me that I have to have one before surgery. I asked why, and the surgeon just said, "Because it's a life saving procedure." I told him that Kaiser doesn't require it and I talked to my OB and I decided to wait. He said, "Well, the program requires it."
I'm not trying to argue with them, because they are not making the process difficult for me, so I dropped it. And I scheduled a mammogram for this week. But, I can't stop asking myself WHY a bariatric surgeon would know better than my OB when I need a mammogram and why it would be required for an unrelated procedure. I don't like answers that are "because I said so" without any logic and explanation, but that's basically what I got from the surgeon. And I don't want to piss them off, because on my first appointment, he said I was at my pre-surgery goal weight, agreed it was medically necessary, and targeted surgery for my preferred date - early August. But, I also made an educated and medically advised decision not to have a mammogram yet, and it's really annoying me that I have to do it....
SO - does anyone have any insight on WHY, at a younger age, they make you have a mammogram before the surgery? Maybe I would be less irritated if I knew there was some science behind it...
