GIRLS AND PUBERTY: BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION

by admin Posted in Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction

While we’re on the subject of breasts, we’d like to mention one very important topic, breast self-examination. Doctors encourage adult women to examine their breasts once a month so that they will be able to detect lumps, bumps, thickenings in the breast tissue or other abnormalities in the feel or appearance of the breasts that might be a sign of breast cancer. Fortunately, most of the lumps a woman discovers are not cancerous. In fact, many of the no cancerous breast lumps are just simple cysts, collections of fluid. Sometimes non-cancerous breast lumps disappear on their own; at other times, they must be removed surgically. But whenever a woman discovers a lump or other abnormality in her breast, she needs to see a doctor and have certain tests done to make sure it’s not cancerous.

Each year more than 24,000 women in the United Kingdom develop breast cancer. In some cases breast cancer can’t be cured, and the woman dies from the disease. But if the disease is caught in its early stages, there is a good chance of a cure. In fact, if the disease is caught early enough, it may be cured by simply removing the lump (although in other cases the entire breast must be removed).

Because early detection and treatment of the disease dramatically increase the chance of a cure, breast self-examination is vitally important for women. Unfortunately, far too many women don’t examine their breasts or even know about it. All women over the age of 25 (breast cancer rarely occurs in younger women) should examine their breasts every month.

If you have a sister, mother, grandmother or another adult female you’re close to and encourage her to discuss breast self-examination with her GP and to practise it on a monthly basis. Or if someday you marry or have a regular sexual partner, you could help and encourage her to examine her breasts.

Although it might be difficult or somewhat embarrassing for you to bring up the topic of breast self-examination with your older sister, mother or grandmother, we urge you to do so. By sharing this important information you might get your female relative started on the important habit of examining her breasts. And, who knows, you might just save her life.

We should also mention that men can develop breast cancer, although it is very rare. However, it’s a good idea for adult men to check their nipples and chest area regularly and to have any unusual lumps or other abnormalities checked by a doctor. (Teenagers, both boys and girls, should, however, remember that they may feel a lump under one or both of their breasts during puberty. This is not a sign of cancer or any other medical problem.)

In addition to checking their breasts, males should also examine their testicles.

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