Breast tenderness in adolescents and young adults

Remember when you were younger when you experienced breast tenderness? It is not easy to grow up as a young woman. There is a constant roller coaster of emotions to feel and experiences to go through. Hormones are erratic, skin problems seem continuous, and her mood has improved, opps now that they’re down, no wait, they’re up!

Breast tenderness is normal and common when young women go through puberty. They often hurt and cause discomfort. You may feel embarrassed by what you think of as “overnight” growth in your breasts. “Honestly, I could swear they weren’t there yesterday!” Getting used to your breast development, having breast tenderness, feeling uncomfortable, finding the right bra for you, while going through potential confidence and self-esteem issues, can be a great experience!

My advice to teenage girls and young adult women is to learn the basics and be aware of breasts. Find someone you can talk to about what you are feeling and what you are going through. For young women in their 20s, I encourage you to start doing a monthly breast self-exam. Why wait until 40? The sooner you get into the regular habit of doing this, the faster you will become familiar with your breasts. Please get over the embarrassment and weird feeling of having a breast self-exam. You and your friends need to have a conversation about the signs of breast cancer; she owes it to herself to talk to them.

By learning how to get a breast exam regularly, you will no doubt discover that you are like many of us and that you have lumpy breasts. Don’t panic and assume your breast lump is breast cancer. Most likely, your breast lump or lumps that you are feeling are hormonal. That’s why by doing your breast self-exam each month, you can find out how your breasts normally feel and know when to do the exam. Most breast tenderness at an earlier age is usually associated with your cycle, so be careful and don’t panic.

Young women should also be aware of inflammatory breast cancer, which is a very aggressive, rare cancer that does not have a breast lump. I’m not trying to scare you girls, but read up on inflammatory breast cancer so you know the particular signs of breast cancer to look for.

For teenage girls, I think it’s never too early to start talking about women’s health issues and breast cancer. Education is very important and, in my opinion, it is never too early to start raising awareness. Sow the seed of breast health in your teen’s mind. You may not realize it right now, but with support and encouragement, open discussions, and education, you may end up as a young adult who begins doing a monthly breast self-exam on a regular basis. Yippee to what I say!

Oh by the way girls, please don’t roll your eyes in horror or boredom, if your mother or another woman in your life has a breast talk with you. It’s only because she cares!