Microcalcifications weren’t going to kill me. The process of diagnosing their cause was still stressful.

My memory of breast biopsies in 2001 and 2006 is foggy. Any anxiety must have been wiped out by hearing “benign.” 

This time I tried to tamp down anxiety with knowledge. When a screening mammogram results in a callback for which you have to wait three weeks, and then the diagnostic mammogram results in a biopsy appointment for which you have to wait another four weeks, there’s plenty of time to research the situation.

Sharing what I learned may reduce the stress of women headed for biopsies because they, like me, have suspicious-looking microcalcifications. It calmed me somewhat beforehand to know that whatever the biopsy finding (it was benign), microcalcifications are not going to kill me.

Coping with four more years of you-know-who

Two-thirds of Americans have cut back their political news consumption since Donald Trump was reelected, according to an Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey. Seven in ten are Democrats, six in ten Republicans and independents. Some of us can’t stand the man, others can stand the chaos.

It can’t be good for the country if the majority of citizens spend the next four years uninformed. But neither is it good for our mental health if we’re in a state of constant agitation over the news from Washington.

Holiday greetings in the age of technology

I appreciate people, rarer every year, who still send holiday cards through snail mail. I enjoy seeing the cards and decorating the dining table with them. 

I hope the senders don’t mind that they hear from me by email. I can’t remember why — perhaps it was my frugality — but quite a few years ago I switched to emailing holiday notes. I ignored the etiquette mavens at the time who said that e-cards are tacky and assured myself that a personalized message shows effort, whichever way it is delivered.