I had my first mammogram last year at age 37-- three years earlier than I'd planned, and about a month after a family member was diagnosed.

I cried through the whole thing.

I was afraid of what they'd find. And of what they might not find.

Which is why I became so agitated when I recently noticed several postings on a local moms' Web site about mammograms. Several were from women who wanted to get mammograms but hadn't because they were uninsured or underinsured and couldn't afford them. Others were simply afraid or didn't want to know if they did have breast cancer.

Let me be blunt: Please, please, please don't do this!

You can't afford not to have a mammogram. You want to know if you have breast cancer. This disease, which affects one in eight women, kills because it spreads. Time fuels its growth.

Regular mammograms and even a biopsy missed my relative's cancer at first.

Hers was evasive and difficult to diagnose. Mammograms aren't perfect, but they're pretty reliable, along with MRI and ultrasound technology.

I was resigned to the fact that my mammogram would hurt. After it was finished, I said, "Is that it?" And it was. An eyebrow wax hurts worse than a mammogram.

As for the affordability issue, it's valid. And it really makes my blood boil. Regardless of where you stand on healthcare reform, preventive screenings for men and women should be more affordable and accessible. I know, I know. Who's going to pay for it?

I can't answer that directly but I do know this: If we can pay for the sins of Wall Street bankers and the mismanagement of the automakers, can't we redirect funds to help regular Americans be screened for diseases that would end their lives and cause anguish, pain and suffering for them and their families? Because I'd much rather pay for that than to bail out folks who, frankly, should've seen the writing on the wall. I'm just saying.

But I digress. That money is spent.

And here we are still with women who can't afford screenings. Women with young children and grown children. Women with no children. Women who are somebody's daughter, wife or sister.

So here's the deal: According to the American Cancer Society, women age 40 and over should have a mammogram and clinical breast exam annually. Women with a family history should begin mammograms earlier combined possibly with MRI or ultrasound.

If you have health insurance, the state requires companies to provide a baseline mammogram for those aged 35 to 39, a mammogram every other year for women 40 to 49, and an annual mammogram for women over 50.

Medicare now covers annual mammograms for women over 40. I have no idea why private health insurers in our state are not required to do so. Anyone? Only 20 states in the U.S. require private insurers to cover annual mammograms for women over 40. Shame on the other 30.

If you're a breast cancer survivor, share information with your husband, sons, daughters and grandchildren so a family history can be developed.

We think my great-grandmother might have had breast cancer, but it was so hush-hush, no one knows for sure.

I sure wish I knew now. Ignorance is not bliss.

No one wants a breast cancer diagnosis, but it's even worse to be blind-sided and have few options because the cancer is too advanced.