At what age do you normally start getting breast exams?

Question

I'm talking about the kind of exams where they check for breast cancer and whatnot. Cause I'm young-ish but i'm not really looking forward to that anytime soon. Also, what exactly do they do there?

Answer 1

18 or whenever you become sexually active, which ever comes first.

Answer 2

16 or 18

Answer 3

Clinical breast are recommended starting at age 20.  Mammograms are recommended starting at age 40.  When doctors perform a breast exam, they will have you lay on your back with your arm over your head (same side as the breast they are examining) and they will walk their fingers over your breast, pushing in slightly to feel the tissue beneath the skin to feel for lumps or something that doesn't feel normal.  Unless you are having sensitive b*****s at the time, it doesn't hurt.  It may feel weird or tickle.  And it only takes a couple minutes to check both.

You can help your doctor by performing a breast self-exam once a month.  If you started before age 20, it wouldn't hurt you as you'd get a better understanding of what's normal for your b*****s.  If you would like more info on how to perform a breast self-exam, I've included a link for you that teaches you exactly how to do it.  Toward the bottom of the page are links to the BSE tool in three different languages:  English, Spanish and Hindi.

Answer 4

There are a few kinds of exams.  The OB/GYN will probably do a basic exam the very first time you visit.  They will physically feel your b*****s, checking for any lumps or nodules, and probably ask you if you've experienced any symptoms to worry about.  This sort of exam is no big deal and is something you might want to be doing regularly yourself (though recent studies aren't too positive about us average Janes being able to identify problems early on).

The more involved exam is a mammogram.  This involves taking a low-radiation x-ray of the b*****s.  This is the sort of test you may have seen on tv or in movies where the boob sort of gets squished in this machine.  Not comfy - but breast cancer isn't either.  These sorts of exams usually aren't used until a woman is nearing 40.  Young women have very dense breast tissue and it can be very hard to actually see anything in the pics.  As we age, breast tissue becomes less dense and mammogram is a good way to identify potential areas of concern.