MAMMOGRAM

HI MY NAME IS STACY AND I'VE BEEN A LITTLE WORRIED LATELY ABOUT MY BREASTS. I DO HAVE ONE BIGGER THAN THE OTHER BUT THAT HAPPENED WHEN I GOT PREGNANT AND I'VE HAD TWO ABORTIONS. MY RIBS RIGHT UNDER MY RIGHT BREAST HURTS. THE THING THAT IS BOTHERING ME THE MOST IS THAT I'M ONLY 18 YEARS OLD AND YOUR WEBSITE TALKS ABOUT BEING 40 TO GET A MAMMOGRAM DONE. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear Stacy:  It is normal for women to have one breast that is larger than the other.  In terms of the ribs under your right breast, there are many reasons these could be sore.  The most obvious is injury.  Breast cancer does not usually cause pain.  If this continues, you may want to check with your family doctor.  A mammogram would likely not be helpful at your age.  Breast tissue tends to be dense when we are young, making a mammogram impossible to read.  It would be very unusual for an 18 year old to develop breast cancer.