Boobs, Part 2

Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a Gurl
by Esther Drill, Heather Mcdonald, Rebecca Odes

(Page 2 of 2)

Lumps and bumps

The vast majority of lumps and bumps in the breast, at any age, are harmless. Breast budding in the early stages of breast development can often feel like a lump. At certain times of the month, especially before their periods, some women develop cysts — small fluid-containing sacs. They are usually found near the armpits, can hurt a little, and disappear within a few days.

Show your doctor any lump that does not disappear within a few days; it is probably nothing to worry about. Breast cancer is obviously a scary and serious disease, which affects one in eight women over the course of a lifetime. But it is extremely, extremely rare in teenagers.

Fibrocystic breasts

Many girls and women develop lumpiness in their breasts due to hormonal changes during their menstrual cycle. Women with fibrocystic breasts have denser fibrous material in between the fatty deposits in their breasts, so it's more likely to become tangled up into knots. Fibrocystic lumps are not cancerous, although the first time you notice them, you may want to have them checked out.

All women experience some such cystic changes: lumpiness, tenderness, swelling. Eventually, you should get to know your own patterns of lumpiness.

Breast pain

Most girls experience some occasional breast pain — most often before a period or during the early stages of breast development. If the pain is really plaguing you, happens at irregular times not linked to your cycle, or is much more pronounced in one breast, it's worth mentioning to your doctor, who may suggest cutting down on caffeine or taking vitamin E supplements and primrose oil.

Discharge or bleeding

Some discharge from the nipple can be brought on by hormonal fluctuations, but both discharge and bleeding that lasts for more than a week should be checked out with a doctor.

Chafed nipples

Nipples stick out and can rub against your clothes and sometimes get irritated, dry and crack, and even bleed a bit. Wearing soft fabrics or natural fibers can help. It can also help to put ointment, lanolin preparations, or even flavor — free lip balm on irritated areas.

Inverted nipples

Some nipples do not stick out; instead, they appear to stick in (inverted nipples). This is not uncommon. Some nipples may go from "innies" to "outies" during the course of development. Once your breasts are fully developed, usually at age 18, any sudden changes should be reported to your doctor.

Hairy nipples

Some girls grow a few dark hairs around the areola, the area surrounding the nipple. You may be tempted to tweeze them, but that could lead to ingrown hairs and infection. They can be trimmed or zapped with electrolysis — or left hanging.

Stretch marks

When boobs, or any parts of the body, grow fast, the skin has to stretch to keep up. Sometimes the skin is not quite elastic enough to do that, and purplish lines, called stretch marks, may appear where the skin has been stretched. These are not uncommon, and they do fade with time, although not always entirely.

How to give a breast self-exam

Breast cancer, though not a big concern to teenagers, is a prospect that all adult women need to be aware of. There are all sorts of studies linking breast cancer with heredity, diet, hormonal imbalances, and lifestyle. New treatments and medical breakthroughs hold some promise in eventually defeating this disease, but nothing beats early detection. That's why your first line of defense against breast cancer is monthly self-examination. You can start as soon as your breasts are fully developed.

Breast self-exams should be done at the same time of the month every month, right after your period ends, when the breasts are neither tender nor swollen.

1. Lie down on your back; put your right arm over your head and a pillow under your right shoulder.

2. With the three middle fingers of your left hand, feel for lumps or thickened tissue in your right breast, using a firm circular motion radiating out from the nipple. Press hard enough to familiarize yourself with how your breast feels, but not so hard that it hurts.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for your left breast.

4. Standing and looking in a mirror, check your breasts for any surface anomalies like puckering, dimpling, or swelling. Do this with your arms at your sides, with them stretched above your head, and with your hands on your hips while flexing your chest muscles.

Bras

Whether or when to wear a bra is an entirely personal decision. Some, especially larger-breasted women, find they are more comfortable with their boobs strapped in and supported, since there's less jiggling and bouncing that way. Many women also find it more comfortable to wear a bra when jogging or doing other kinds of exercise. Some women are more comfortable going braless.

The jury is still out about whether wearing a bra in fact prevents eventual sagging. Some experts say it can help preserve some of the elasticity of the tissue and the ligaments that hold the breast up. But others say that over the long haul, gravity, wear and tear, motherhood, and changes in size brought on by weight gain and loss all take their toll, no matter how often a woman has worn a bra.

The shape of a nipple — which can stiffen if it's cold or aroused — is less visible underneath a bra, if that's something you care about.

Girls usually experiment to figure out which kind of bra suits them. Bras can make your boobs look bigger or smaller or otherwise different. There's a veritable smorgasbord of silhouette-altering brassieres at your disposal.

Resources

American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) provides information on all aspects of women's health, including maintaining healthy breasts. Address: 801 North Fairfax St., Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314. Phone: [phone]. Website: http://www.amwa-doc.org.

Breast Cancer Information Clearinghouse (BCIC), NYSERNet, Inc., 200 Elwood Davis Rd., Suite 103, Liverpool, NY 13088. Phone: [phone], ext. 225.

National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations (NABCO) provides information to anyone with questions about breast cancer. Address: 9 East 37th St., 10th floor, New York, NY 10016. Phone: [phone]. Website: http://www.nabco.org.

National Women's Health Network is a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide women with a greater voice in the health care system. Address: 514 Tenth St., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20004. Phone: [phone] for information regarding legislation.

Society for the Study of Breast Disease, 3409 Worth, Suite 300, Sammons Tower, Dallas, TX 75246. Phone: [phone].

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the sponsor of Race for the Cure, seeks to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advocating research, screening, and education. Address: 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 370, Dallas, TX 74244. Phone: [phone] or 800-IMAWARE for the national breast care help line. Website: http://www.breastcancerinfo.com.

Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization provides peer counseling, referrals, and written information for breast cancer survivors, patients, family, and friends. Address: 212 West Van Buren, Chicago, IL 60607. Phone: [phone] (English) or 800-986-9505 (Spanish). Website: http://www.y-me.org/index.html.

Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR) at http://wwww.acor.org provides cancer information and electronic support groups.

Virtual Kid Puberty 101 at http://www.virtualkid.com covers all the changes in your body, including the stages of breast development.

Breasts: Our Most Public Private Parts by Meema Spadola (Wildcat Canyon Press, 1998). Based on a documentary this book tells people's personal stories about breasts-from adolescents to older women.

Copyright © 1999 by gURL and Roundtable Press