Jul
I'm surprised to see how many teenage girls ask about breast cancer here on a daily basis. Is it really something that so many teenagers are concerned about? If so, are you able to speak to your mother or another adult about it?
Answer:
This is something that concerns me too - each single day there are at least two questions on here from young girls worried that they have breast cancer.
Health education in schools and any information about self-examination should include the information that breast cancer in under 20s is nearly unheard of, that it's rare in women under 40 and that most breast lumps, even in older
women, aren't cancerous.
It would also be helpful to include the fact that only 5 - 10% of breast cancer cases are due to hereditary factors - there's widespread misinformation about breast cancer 'running in families', so we see young girls on here worrying that they're at increased risk because their grandmother or great aunt had it.
Sadly, many of the people who answer these questions from young girls have no knowledge about breast cancer at all, and help to spread the misinformation
Edit** I'm quite concerned that teenage girls are being encouraged to check their breasts - the point of breast self-examination is for women to become familiar with their breasts so that they spot any changes and can report them to a doctor. Young girls' breasts are changing all the time, and changes they find during self-exam will nearly certainly be hormonal; that, coupled with the fact that their chances of having breast cancer are almost zero, makes checking their breasts pointless.
Answer:
Hey, when I was 17 or 18, I found a lump! I was so freaked out because I had never heard of a lump in the breast NOT being cancer. It was a fibroid. But before I found that out I had to get it aspirated, then have surgery. I was terrified.
It was a scary time. If I'd had a place like the web to ask questions, maybe I'd have saved myself a lot of agony.
So, it is good that teenagers are trying to be informed, if not for themselves, perhaps for their sisters, moms, and aunts.
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I definitely am one of those teens, I probably am even OVER concerned. Although, I do know it's EXTREMELY rare in teens to get breast cancer… Most of those teens may have had an immediate family member with breast cancer also.. Which might explain to a degree about their worries. It's certainly like that with me!
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It isn’t just the girls worrying about breast cancer. It amazes me how many teenagers of both genders think every lump, bump, scratch, mole and mark might be or is cancer. I often wonder; where do they get these ideas? When I was a teenager getting cancer never crossed my mind and I had a friend die of lymphoma when we were 16. None of my friends ever expressed concern about it either. Something is wrong.
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Hi - I'm 15 and I think it's because we're always being told to check our breasts for lumps and stuff - you know it's always there. My mum's just been diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time so maybe that makes me more wary about it than others - but cancer is all over. So we do ask.
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teenagers should not be concern about that topic. if worried consult the physician not your parents.
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yea and its not just breast cancer preteens like 12 and 13 year olds are asking about sex tips and stuff…wtf??
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you should speak to your parents or a doctor. Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | Facebook | Technorati | Google | StumbleUpon | Window Live | Tailrank | Furl | Netscape | Yahoo | BlinkList