FACT #1: It is perfectly normal for your Tips to discharge either milk (when you are pregnant or nursing a baby) or a clear colourless liquid when fondled or manipulated especially during love making.
This therefore should not alarm you. However, you should talk to your doctor if milk is discharged when you are not pregnant or nursing a baby or have stopped nursing a baby by at least 2 weeks.
This is very important because of a condition called galactorrhoea that is often caused by a brain tumor, prolactinoma. Other causes of galactorrhoea abound but prolactinomas are our greatest cause of worry.
FACT #2: From the moment you start ovulating until the last day of your menstruation, it is very normal for your b reasts to become engorged, heavy and even painful.
This is often due to that fact that once ovulation starts, the woman’s body starts preparing pregnancy in the event that a pregnancy occurs. So do not be alarmed. Don’t panic.
It is just normal physiology happening, it will resolve itself naturally or if the pain is too discomforting, popping two tablets of paracetamol helps provide relief.
FACT #3: It is absolutely NOT normal to find lumps/masses, of any kind, in your b reast(s). The normal human b reast is made of b reast tissue which is primarily responsible for the shape and for milk production.
The b reast tissue is uniform to touch. So it becomes abnormal when you palpate your b reasts and find masses or lumps there. Although, most of the masses are benign, it is still an abnormal finding. Contact your doctor as soon as you discover lumps/masses in your b reast(s).
Diseased right b reast
FACT #4: The two b reasts are slightly unequal in 9 out of every 10 women with the left b reast often appearing larger than the right one.
This called b reast asymmetry and it is a normal occurrence in most women. Usually, this difference in size is not noticed until the two b reasts are closely observed.
NB: The b reast asymmetry talked about is normal and not pathologic. However some women who have large lumps in one b reast or have a b reast cancer in one b reast can present with noticeably asymmetric b reasts. This should not be confused with the normal.
FACT #5: It is normal for the b reasts to lose their shape and firmness and become floppy as you age, especially after menopause.
This is often due to the decrease in the reproductive hormone oestrogen after menopause.
Absence of this hormone makes th skin become dry and less elastic, hence the resulting sagging.
Most women who are able to afford Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) opt for it or go for plastic surgery, both of which significantly make them have fuller and firmer b reasts than women who allow nature do its thing without interference.
FACT #6: The mere act of gently massaging the b reast can help prevent b reast cancer, according to a research conducted and published in 2013.
This is often referred to as B reast-Self Massage (BSM) and it works on the principle that massaging the b reasts helps stimulate the growth of normal b reast tissue growth, hence preventing the growth of cancerous cells.
So you may want spend a few more minutes in the bath massaging your b reasts each you have a bath.
FACT #7: It is NOT normal for your b reast(s) to discharge blood, pus or any other strangely coloured substance.
In fact, if your Tips are discharging anything other than b reast milk or the traditional clear, colourless liquid, contact your doctor immediately! I repeat…immediately! This could be a sign of a malignancy.
Don’t wait until it is too late before you discuss your symptoms with your doctor.
B reast cancer is killing hundreds of thousands of women annually just because they were diagnosed late when it is virtually impossible to treat it. DON’T BE A VICTIM.
