CHAPTERS Chapter Three When should you start getting regular breast examinations? I don't ask a lot of questions for a couple reasons: 1) I’m afraid everyone already knows the answer and I’m just naive. 2) If no one else is asking questions, I feel awkward being the only one asking 3) It’s sort of a private topic that I’m not used to talking about out loud. I went up two sizes over summer break! I started 7th grade with a “C” cup. Then my breasts got these weird pink stripes on the side. What happened? My Aunt Toni just got diagnosed with breast cancer. Does that mean I’m going to get it too? Should I avoid red meat? I love hamburgers! How about sun? The most disgusting thing happened to me ever. I got a huge zit on my breast — just in time for tank-top season! I thought breasts would be like a sort of trouble free skin zone — no freckles, no zits. I am in 5th grade and my Mom wants to have a talk with me about breast self-examination. But I don’t want to talk about it. I’m still wearing a training bra and I don’t think I need to know that stuff yet. I got a rash all over my breasts right before prom night. I tried to put base make-up on it and that just made it worse. I have no idea how I’m supposed to know what a lump would feel like or even where I should look for one. All of a sudden my breasts feel so sore. I know if I tell my Mom, she’ll freak. And I really can’t deal with some strange doctor giving me an exam. I heard my Mom joke with her friend that when she gets a mammogram they won't be able to even see everything because her breasts are huge. But I don’t think it’s funny. What if she’s right? What if they can’t see everything? My friend and I thought it would be fun to sunbathe nude on her building’s rooftop. I got a sunburn right on my breasts. It itched so bad I couldn’t wear a bra. My breasts feel kind of irregular, so I can never tell what feels like an actual lump or what's just another part of my breast. I wish I had more information! As my breasts grow I know I need to examine them to make sure there is nothing wrong. But my Mom says I am too young to be worried about breast cancer. I heard that women have to have a mammogram every year of their lives after 40. But I wonder if that is true if you have really small breasts?
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