Keeping Those Tatas Healthy Through the Years
MSN Health had this awesome article on breast health and so I’ll share:
Your 20s:
Your girls vs. gravity
A lower fat to glandular tissue ratio keeps younger boobs perky, while connective tissues, called Cooper’s ligaments, hold breast shape together. Help out the latter by donning a supportive bra during the day and a sports bra whenever you’re exercising.
7 Ways to keep your breasts healthy
What’s that lump
Likely, a fibroadenoma, a benign tumor that occurs in 13 percent of women. The one-to two-centimeter bump feels like a smooth pebble that moves around when pressed. About 50 percent of these masses disappear on their own around menopause.
Getting tested
Routinely conduct a breast self-exam right after your period, and visit your ob-gyn for a yearly clinical exam.
Your breast cancer risk
1 in 1,681
6 Ways to have fun with your breasts
Your 30s:
Your girls vs. gravity
The D cups that often accompany pregnancy can stretch the skin to its limit, resulting in disrupted collagen production, sagging, and stretch marks. Limiting baby-weight gain to under 35 pounds may minimize breast expansion. No kids? Aim to maintain a healthy weight to avoid bloated boobs.
What’s that lump
Nearly a third of breast-feeding women get hit with mastitis, an infection that causes painful red lumps and flu-like symptoms. (You can thank the bacteria in your baby’s mouth.) Antibiotics can wipe out the ailment in about a week, but surgical drainage is sometimes required.
Getting tested
Do breast self-exams once a month and see your ob-gyn annually. If your mother or sister has had breast cancer, go in for a baseline mammogram at age 35.
Your breast cancer risk
1 in 232
Eat for a cure: Foods that lower your cancer risk
Your 40s:
Your girls vs. gravity
Even if you’ve never been knocked up, your lobules, or milk-producing glands, begin to shrink, causing droopage. Push-up lingerie can counteract floppiness, but only a surgical breast lift can permanently correct it.
What’s that lump
As the body prepares for menopause, it unleashes more estrogen before ovulation. That hormonal rush can spur the growth of fluid-filled cysts up to two inches wide. The soft, grapelike lumps (which a doctor can drain in some cases) tend to swell right before your period.
Getting tested
Stick with the monthly self-exams and the annual office visits. Get your first mammogram at age 40 and repeat every one to two years.
Your breast cancer risk
1 in 69