Once your daughter develops breast buds, she may experience nipple discharge. This is usually caused by irritation to the area, or by an elevated level of the hormone prolactin. Increased hormone levels may be the result of medications your daughter is taking or by a growth on her pituitary gland. Therefore, if your daughter experiences nipple discharge, you should take her to your pediatrician to be evaluated.
Your daughter may also develop a mass in her breast, even at a young age. Thankfully, the vast majority of these growths are completely benign. Although a trip to the doctor’s office is necessary to evaluate the mass, biopsies of the area are greatly frowned-upon by doctors because of the risk of damaging a girl’s breast bud. In almost all instances, the masses resolve themselves, remain without causing any problems, or disappear with the use of antibiotics.
One thing you can feel good about is the fact that breast cancer is extremely rare in adolescents. In fact, studies show that from 1998 to 2002, the incidence of breast cancer in females below the age of 20 was 0 cases for every 100,000 people. That’s right; zero cases. Now, that doesn’t mean it never happens, but it’s not something that you should spend your time worrying about.
