Randi: I truly feel for you, as only another woman who goes through this stuff every year could. Who knew that our breasts and ovaries could turn into these grenades, wells of poison, and we'd have to be checked and examined and observed, just waiting for them to turn on us and kill us? I'm not sure it used to be like this, but maybe they didn't have the tests available? I think a lot of it was the birth control/hormones they were pushing on women that radically increased the rates. But whatever the reason, this is a yearly nightmare for all of us.

As far as reading it while you wait, where I am you need to tell them in advance. And call to confirm that last year's records are there, and if they're not, re-schedule.

My bigger concern (since I'm gratefully healthy) is that we need to ensure healthcare for everyone who needs it. That specifically must include all people over 40. If, god forbid, somebody is diagnosed with a problem, they may get the preliminary treatment but their premiums will be immediately raised to the point that they will no longer be able to afford insurance. I know a couple -- he has since died. Both of them, at around 40, got a serious health problem. He had heart problems and a bypass, and she had skin cancer. Their insurance premiums immediately shot up and they could no longer afford it. A couple, fairly decent income, with 2 kids, but no insurance.

The sad truth is that once people hit a certain age they will have medical problems: neck, knees, back, heart, diabetes, cancers. I know a lady recently who got cancer, had no insurance, finally got onto some kind of charity-ward treatment, lived awhile, then died. If she had had private insurance, I'll bet she'd be alive. This is criminal.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you have a clean mammogram, and we all do. But this apprehension, the momentary removal of denial, the realization that it can happen to any of us, can be a spur to action to force Obama to give us real healthcare -- preferably allowing anyone who wants to buy into medicare on a sliding scale depending on income. Anyway, good luck.