Not Your Average Girls Night Out

The American Cancer Society recommends that all women aged 40 and over get a mammogram screening each year. But for most, it's easier said than done. With family conflicts, the hassle of going to the hospital, and the anxiety and discomfort that often accompany getting a mammogram, many women choose to blow it off.

Three years ago, a group of Needham women came up with a creative solution—to encourage one another by booking their appointments together.

"We make it fun and silly," said Tracilee Messina. "If you're alone you might get yourself worked up in a tizzy."

The group of six women between the ages of 39 and 45 head to Newton-Wellesley Hospital each year, usually all in one car, and then make a night of it by going to dinner. "It takes the fear out of it because you know you're with your good friends," says Messina. "If there's a long wait in the waiting room, at least you're chatting with your friends."

When the group arrived at Newton-Wellesley Hospital this past spring, technologist Lisa Iacovone realized they were all together and asked what was going on. They explained that they came to support each other as they do every year.

"We said it's like a ladies night out," Messina said.

Jil Perlmutter, senior program manager of marketing and clinical development at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, immediately picked up on the idea when Iacovone brought it to her attention. "I thought, this is something we should be doing as a program and offering it to our community," she said. Now, groups of women can schedule appointments together. Though the new program hasn't yet been widely publicized, it has already been implemented at the hospital as well as its two satellite locations in Natick and Walpole.

"Usually groups are positive, and it overflows to everybody else," said Perlmutter. "The staff loves it."

Having an annual mammogram, Perlmutter said, is "invaluable for finding abnormalities that women might not notice themselves." She emphasizes the fact that screening is for everybody—70% of cases of breast cancer develop in women with no family history of the disease.

The group mentality is one factor that incites women to go through with the screening. "It can be a little tense and anxiety-provoking coming in," said Perlmutter. "People procrastinate and don't want to come in, afraid of what they might find. If you come in a group you can support each other."

Messina agreed. "It's not pleasant," she said. "What's scary is the waiting because you're in a hospital where other people may have been diagnosed. Going in a group can make the experience funny instead of upsetting."

Another strategy is to help women feel more comfortable during the procedure. "At Newton-Wellesley we give them a pink and purple gown," said Perlmutter. The "Joanie," as opposed to a regular hospital gown called a Johnny, is made of bathrobe-like material and is easy to mistake for a regular blouse.

"This way they don't feel so hospitalized," Perlmutter said.