When should a female get her first breast exam?

Let’s talk about what a “breast exam” is. The purpose of breast exams (performed by a doctor or an individual) is to look for any abnormalities and to feel for any lumps or other changes in the breast tissue, which could ultimately be a sign of cancer (though lumps are more often normal breast tissue variants). For this reason, many doctors will begin performing breast exams and/or showing patients how to perform their own breast exams once breast tissue starts to develop. For young female patients, it’s important to note that the benefit of breast exams is not so much to check for cancer (as it’s incredibly rare in this age group) but more to get to know the composition of breast tissue (smooth, fibrous, lumpy, cystic) so that when changes DO happen in the future they know when to see a doctor.