Tips from gaining health

A guide to keeping your breasts healthy now and in the years to come.
Breasts: Some women worry that theirs are too big or too small or not as firm and youthful as they once were, but heres one thing that every woman wants -- healthy breasts for a lifetime.

As you enter your 30s, 40s, and 50s, your breasts change along with the rest of your body. In your childbearing years, you may wonder whether breastfeeding will affect your shape. After menopause, you might be more concerned about breast cancer risk.

During this decade, hormones like estrogen help to keep breasts firm. Breasts contain no muscles. Rather, they consist of fibrous tissue, fatty tissue, plus dense glandular tissue that includes milk-producing glands called lobules and ducts to carry milk.

Fortunately, in the 30s, breast problems tend to be benign (noncancerous). Younger women commonly experience fibrocystic breast disease, a broad term that is characterized by breast pain, cysts, and noncancerous lumpiness. "Breast pain can be cyclic, coming with menstrual periods, or it can be more persistent.

What helps ease breast pain? Avoiding caffeine, says Elizabeth Steiner, associate professor at Oregon Health and Science University and director of the Oregon Cancer Institute Breast Health Education Program.

Fibroadenomas can also affect women in their 30s. These rubbery lumps made of fibrous and glandular tissue arent cancerous, but they can hurt. If theyre bothersome, they can be surgically removed, Downey says.
Worried About Breast Sagging?

During this decade, which has become more popular for childbearing, breastfeeding offers mothers some long-term protection against breast cancer. "One of the best gifts they can give themselves and their babies is to breastfeed for as long as possible," Steiner says.

But some women worry that breast feeding will cause breast sagging. Experts tell  however, that nursing doesnt actually cause breast tissue to droop. Instead, breast swelling during lactation can stretch the skin over the breast. "Then when your breasts shrink again, you have this loose skin that appears to sag more than it did before," Downey says.

In fact, one 2007 study presented at an American Society of Plastic Surgeons conference exonerated breastfeeding. But it named other culprits that contribute to sagging: larger pre-pregnancy bra cup size, greater number of pregnancies, cigarette smoking (which can weaken skin elasticity), and older age.

As the years go by, breasts become less glandular and fattier, which makes them less firm. Another factor is the stretching of fibrous bands in the breast called Coopers ligaments. "Theyre fibrous tissue that holds the breast up a bit, and those can stretch over time, and that leads to some of the sagging, too," Downey says. Hence the term "Coopers droopers."

Experts tell WebMD you cant do much to slow or prevent sagging. Because the breasts contain no muscles, you cant really exercise your way to a perkier chest.

However, some doctors advise women to wear sports bras during jogging to prevent bouncing that can stretch the ligaments. "Wearing a tight-fitting bra on a regular basis probably doesnt make a big difference," Downey says, "but wearing a bra that prevents a lot of bouncing, like with jogging, probably does minimize stretching of those fibrous bands."

Low Breast Cancer Risk

Breast cancer is uncommon; women aged 30-39 have a risk of only one in 229 of being diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Unless theres a strong family history of breast cancer, women in their 30s dont need mammogram screening. In fact, younger womens denser breast tissue makes it harder to detect breast cancers on mammograms.

However, regular manual breast exams by your doctor are crucial to check for lumps, skin dimpling, and other signs of breast cancer, according to experts.

Furthermore, Downey urges women in their 30s to report lasting breast changes or pain to their doctors. "Many of these things that cause breast pain in young women are going to turn out to be benign, but there are breast cancers that happen in young women," Downey says. "My advice is, just because youre young and youre less likely to have a cancer doesnt mean that you shouldnt get it looked at."

What about doing monthly breast self-exams at home? The American Cancer Society has declared them optional, citing a lack of evidence that they reduce breast cancer deaths. But each doctor who spoke and emphasized that women should still perform breast self-exams monthly -- at the very least -- to familiarize themselves with their breasts so that they can report changes to their doctors.

"Its easy enough ... and there are certainly women out there who find their breast cancers that way," Downey says. "I encourage all women to do breast self-exams and get comfortable with what their breasts feel like."

If you are premenopausal, the ideal time to check your breasts is 5 to10 days after the beginning of your period, Steiner says, before premenstrual lumpiness appears. "Thats when you have the least hormonal effect and youre going to have the most accurate exam," she says.
Your Breasts in Your 40s

During the 40s, breast shape continues to change for most women. "As we get older, sort of in a progressive way -- but certainly after menopause -- the breast has less glandular tissue but more fat," Downey says, leading to more sagging.

The Revlon/UCLA Breast Center reports that cysts are the most common type of breast lump seen in women during their 40s, although cysts can develop at other ages as well. These fluid-filled sacs arent cancerous, but they can be painful. Doctors can drain or surgically remove them.

Cellular hanges like atypical ductal hyperplasia may also begin during this decade, Downey says. These abnormal cells in the milk ducts increase a womans chances of breast cancer.

The numbers show that breast cancer risk rises during this decade; a woman between the ages of 40 and 49 now has a one in 68 chance of being diagnosed. Theore, mammogram screening enters the picture.