Five to 10 percent of the emails I receive daily are from teenage girls worrying they might have breast cancer, based on some symptom they have found. More importantly, they are afraid to tell their mothers. Instead, they are reaching out to medical personnel online. Who knows, I may have even gotten an email from your daughter.
What are they worrying about?
- Their breasts are growing at different rates and don’t look totally symmetrical. That’s normal breast growth, so tell them.
- They feel lumps or bumps inside their breast. This usually happens the first time they have taken on the commendable task of doing a breast self-exam. Show them the right techniques to use and if you don’t them, ask your doctor or nurse practitioner.
- They are squeezing their nipple and areola and finding that fluid comes out. This is usually the result of hormonal changes but sometimes warrants being checked out.
- They are squeezing the tiny bumps on their areola and expressing a white substance. They think that something is seriously wrong when, in fact, these bumps are part of the normal breast structure and weren’t meant to be squeezed.
Add these issues to your discussions with your teenage daughters. They will sleep better at night and worry less. Otherwise, when you see them on the Internet, realize they might be writing to me for help. I routinely answer these questions as well as direct them to talk with their moms about their situation. Please take charge here and help them out. Who knows, maybe you’ll sleep better, too.
