You’re smart and proactive about your health. You eat nutritious food, move throughout your day, and have regular exams–including your mammogram. But there’s someone in your life who doesn’t get mammograms and you’re worried. How do you encourage her to make that important appointment?
Your approach to this conversation matters. When people get defensive, they shut down and can’t hear what you’re telling them. These methods will help.
- Mirroring. We mirror each other–in body language and speech–unconsciously when we’re comfortable. It generates trust. The same results occur when you mirror consciously, provided you’re authentic about it.
- Take strong stands. People respond to confidence and this is life and death we’re talking about. Don’t use qualifiers (I may be wrong, I think) and present the facts as facts.
- Be nice. Don’t attack. Express your concern for their well-being.
The Facts
Statistics are overwhelming. Simplify and make them more personal; they’ll be easier to hear.
- Out of every eight women, including you and your friends, one will get breast cancer.
- Most women diagnosed with breast cancer don’t have a family history of it.
- When breast cancer is found in the early, localized stage, the 5-year survival rate is 99%.
Get Her To Talk
Find out what’s really keeping her from making the appointment. Ask what her fear is, or what obstacles are in her way. Some common ones are:
- It’s going to hurt. Probably. Other things that hurt more: giving birth, a Brazilian bikini wax, and late-stage breast cancer treatment. Today’s imaging is less painful than that of years past, and there are some things you can do to minimize it. Don’t do it the week before your period, when breasts are most tender. Take an ibuprofen an hour before the exam and communicate with your technician.
- I can’t afford it. Most insurance covers mammograms. Contact us at Hancock Health, where we’re making getting 3D mammograms quick, easy, and affordable.
- I don’t have time. The imaging lasts twenty minutes, which is less time than it takes to get your morning latté during rush hour when a barista has called in sick. Offer to lighten her load: babysitting, transportation, errands, calling the clinic yourself–anything that could clear her path to an appointment.
- I’m afraid they might find something. That’s a very real fear. Getting the results, positive or negative, will remove the “what if” fear that will never go away without the exam.
With some luck and persistence, the tips above can help you get all the women in your life to schedule regular mammograms. It’s how you’re helping your friends and family make health possible. For more information on how to obtain an affordable 3D mammogram at Hancock Health, contact us at 317-468-4600.
Sources and External Links
Retrieved from:
The Unconscious Influence of Mirroring: The Power of Mimicking Other People’s Body Language
https://www.theemotionmachine.com/the-unconscious-influence-of-mirroring/
Retrieved from:
How Common Is Breast Cancer?
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/about/how-common-is-breast-cancer.html
Retrieved from:
https://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/FamilyHistoryofBreastOvarianorProstateCancer.html
Retrieved from:
Early Detection
https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/early-detection-of-breast-cancer/
Retrieved from:
Hancock Health Contact
https://www.hancockregionalhospital.org/contact/
