During October, also known widely as breast cancer awareness month, a lot of information is passed around about prevention and research, but many general questions remain for women about their breasts, even long after puberty.

A recent study showed that despite the years of education, many women don't know when they should start getting mammograms, and many aren't even sure which questions they should be asking.

The Huffington Post Canada looked into some of the most commonly asked questions about breasts, both related to breast cancer and otherwise and the answers may surprise you.

Why Do My Boobs Hurt?Breasts can hurt for many reasons, often due to hormone changes as with menstruation, pregnancy or menopause. Cysts have also been found to be a possible factor.

"If you are not having your period and are not pregnant, and there is pain in one spot in one of your breasts (not a general pain), have your breast checked by a doctor as soon as possible," says MJ Decoteau, Executive Director Rethink Breast Cancer.

Is It Normal To Have Back Pain From Your Breasts?"Breasts are an unusual cause of acute back pain, but for women with larger breasts, they are one potential reason for chronic back discomfort," explains Dr. Unger. For such Nike Free 3.0 women, the normal curvature of the spine may be altered, and this may produce discomfort, and even without a change in curvature, large breasts place added strain on the back.

"[Women should see a doctor] if the pain has progressed to a point where it is causing significant discomfort or impairment in day to day functioning. Physicians can then consider other potential cause for the back pain and suggest possible therapies."

Should My Breasts Impact How I Exercise?"Women with larger breasts may find that exercises in which their breasts are moving a significant amount, for example running, worsen or precipitate back pain," says Dr. Unger. "This may be lessened by wearing tighter breast support, or support that distributes the weight of the breasts broadly and evenly across the chest wall. Your body Nike Free Runs is ultimately your best judge as to which exercises you should be doing, and a general rule of thumb is to avoid any activities that are consistently producing discomfort."

Are Different Breast Sizes Normal?"Asymmetry is the norm for the human figure," explains Dr. Unger. "No one body feature is exactly symmetrical, and breast sizes are no different."

How Often Do I Really Need To Do A Self Exam?"There is no need to follow a fancy routine at specific times for examining your breasts, just be familiar with how they look and feel so that you notice changes," say Decoteau.

She suggests going about self exams in comfortable spaces in the bath, shower, when dressing, standing up or lying down. If you find anything unusual, or are worried, consult with a doctor as soon as possible.

Can Deodorant Or Antiperspirant Impact My Breasts At All?No, says Dr. Unger. "For some time there has been concern that parabens, an antimicrobial agent found in many deodorant and antiperspirant products, contributed to the development of breast cancer. This link was based on theory, since parabens are a chemical similar to the female hormone estrogen, and estrogen is a risk factor for breast cancer. However, no research studies have confirmed this theoretical assumption."

What Are The Current Mammogram Guidelines?According to the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, the current guideline for women of average risk is for women 50 to 69 to have a screening mammogram every 2 to 3 years. Screening mammograms are not recommended for women 49 and under. or women 70 and older.

"If you have a family history of breast cancer, or have a history of other breast conditions, consult a doctor to find out how often you should have a screening mammogram," says Decoteau.

What Exactly Is It Bras Do, And Can They Hurt?"Brassieres provide support for breasts and restrict their movement, which can be an annoyance to many women in their day to day lives and when they participate in sports," says Dr. Mark Unger, a physician in Toronto. He notes they're also used for cosmetic purposes to accentuate or conceal breasts.

As for pain, Dr. Unger says there's been some literature on bras halting the flow of fluids from the breast, potentially increasing the risk of breast cancer and other diseases but it's unfounded.

"There is no good scientific evidence that brassieres lead to the development of any breast diseases," he says. "Specifically, the National Cancer Institute does not identify brassieres as a risk factor for breast cancer."

Is It Possible For My Nipples To Change Colour?Nipple colouring often changes over time, notes Dr. Unger, generally darkening, with the biggest changes occurring during breast development, and additional changes during pregnancy.

"In addition, nipple colouring may change in certain medical conditions, notably with particular types of breast cancer and as a consequence of certain medications," he adds.

Do Lumps Always Mean Breast Cancer?"No, not all lumps are breast cancer," says Decoteau. "You should, however, have a doctor check out any lump. Many are benign, but if not, early detection and prompt treatment offer the best chance for a successful outcome."

Breasts can hurt for many reasons, often due to hormone changes as with menstruation, pregnancy or menopause. Cysts have also been found to be a possible factor.

"If you are not having your period and are not pregnant, and there is pain in one spot in one of your breasts (not a general pain), have your breast checked by a doctor as soon as possible," says MJ Decoteau, Executive Director Rethink Breast Cancer.

Is It Normal To Have Back Pain From Your Breasts?

"Breasts are an unusual cause of acute back pain, but for women with larger breasts, they are one potential reason for chronic back discomfort," explains Dr. Mark Unger, a physician in Toronto. For those with larger breasts, the normal curve of the spine may be altered, and this may produce discomfort. Even without a change in curvature, large breasts place Nike Free Sko added strain on the back.

"[Women should see a doctor] if the pain has progressed to a point where it is causing significant discomfort or impairment in day to day functioning. Physicians can then consider other potential cause for the back pain and suggest possible therapies."

Should My Breasts Impact How I Exercise?

"Women with larger breasts may find that exercises in which their breasts are moving a significant amount, for example running, worsen or precipitate back pain," says Dr. Unger. "This may be lessened by wearing tighter breast support, or support that distributes the weight of the breasts broadly and evenly across the chest wall. Your body is ultimately your best judge as to which exercises you should be doing, and a general rule of thumb is to avoid any activities that are consistently producing discomfort."

Are Different Breast Sizes Normal?

"Asymmetry is the norm for the human figure," explains Dr. Unger. "No one body feature is exactly symmetrical, and breast sizes are no different."

I'm not at all shy to admit I was a regular pot smoker for over 7 years of my life. I smoked almost everyday because I enjoyed it. It was something that eased my mind and gave me a sense of relaxation.

Over time however, I began to see that everything I thought I enjoyed about it was only an illusion. I was giving my power away to smoking weed. I thought I couldn't be happy, creative, or not stressed out without it. It became my "umbrella" so to speak. My protection and escape from reality.

When you're doing something that's stagnating or destructive to you. There is always a little voice inside that will say things like, "why am I doing this?" or "I really need to stop doing this." It took me almost 3 years of ignoring that voice and giving excuses until I finally decided to say enough is enough.

It definitely wasn't easy, I would try quitting, then a week later I would go back to smoking again. It took me around 5 attempts to quit, before I finally got to the point where I didn't want anything to do with it.

I was always told marijuana isn't addictive and doesn't have withdrawal symptoms, but nothing is further from the truth. Granted, it's nothing like the harder drugs, but it is no doubt difficult to quit if you've been doing it for a long time. Don't let that discourage you though, it's only difficult for a short while, but it being difficult is necessary.

Here's a list of 10 benefits of quitting marijuana that I noticed when I quit indefinitely. This isn't meant to discriminate against anyone, if you smoke weed and it isn't affecting your life in a negative way, fine. I would still encourage you to stop using for at least 30 days, and see for yourself if it truly isn't though.

My only hope is that this will inspire someone, and help them continue in their growth without being dependent on something outside of themselves.

This is the first thing you will notice, and it will literally be within days. When I smoked weed I could hardly ever remember my dreams. When I finally quit my dreams were so intense that it was startling at first. I hadn't dreamt like that in so long it took me a little while to get used to it.

After I'd say a week or two, it will be normal and you'll start to look forward to it. The thought about remembering your dreams and figuring out what they mean will excite you. You really can learn a lot by looking into the deeper, symbolic meaning your dreams have.

One of my favorite things to do was to smoke weed and play guitar. I thought I was so creative when I did, and it got to the point where I thought I couldn't enjoy playing without smoking first.

Words can't even describe how big of an illusion that was. I was literally giving my creative power away to something else, some drug. When I finally quit smoking and that brain fog lifted, after about 1 month my creativity increased ten fold. I was ten times more creative on the guitar, my other talents, and enjoyed doing them more than I ever did before.

After I quit smoking I noticed a tremendous increase in energy. I wasn't able to just sit around doing nothing anymore, I HAD to get out and Nike Free Sko do something. When I smoked I was content with just "hanging out", and not being very productive. Smoking and being in that "happy" state made it so I didn't care about procrastinating.

After I quit, I was exercising more, getting out of bed earlier, was more focused throughout the day, and finally started getting the things done that I had been putting off for so long.

As a chronic smoker, I literally couldn't go ANYWHERE without wanting to smoke first. I was at the point to where I thought I couldn't enjoy doing anything without being high. I was dependent on something other than myself to be happy, to enjoy life. Nothing is more dis empowering than that. We don't need to be dependent on ANYTHING outside of ourselves to be happy, it is Nike Free Runs only an illusion and nothing else.

I was spending a good $300 or more per month to fund my habit. That's what it costs to pay rent for a lot of people. That extra money has gone a LONG way to towards things which actually have real meaning.

This was a big one for me. When I smoked daily, I was struggling to remember things I did even a couple days back. Specific details about interactions with people were always lost. It was as if there was a constant fog inside my mind.

When I quit, it took about 2 months for that fog to finally lift. I started to see and think clearly, and being able to remember specific details. My short term memory improved ten fold as did my critical thinking ability.

7. More Proactive and Inspired

I was always a person who was content with just following someone else and just taking the easy route. Nike Free Sko I would always just read other peoples work, then wait for them to teach me something else. I never tried to learn something on my own or contribute. I was fine with just playing other peoples music on the guitar, as opposed to actually working and creating my own.

After being off weed, that all changed. I started becoming a proactive person, rather than a reactive person. To my amazement, it all started to come easy! Where as writing music was a struggle before, I would start getting inspired and could write whole songs within a short period of time. You'll naturally start to become inspired and WANT to create and contribute to what you believe in.

I must also mention that it's very probable I wouldn't have started this website had I not quit.

My overall health took an amazing turn when I quit. I could breath twice as deep as before, my throat no longer feels agitated all the time, and my diet improved because I didn't have the munchies all the time, giving in to junk food. My skin complexion improved, and my sweat didn't smell as bad.

Writing that just reminded me of a very important point. My ability to not give into temptation increased as well. Not just with junk food, but with many other things. I was able to remain steadfast and firm in my beliefs without cowering away.

As a regular smoker my moods would constantly fluctuate. I would go from happy and calm (when high), to having even the smallest things frustrate and ruin my whole day out of no where. I was always in this tennis ball affect being hit back and forth. Being high was the only way to avoid that.

When I first quit, this got worse. I stayed in the angry and frustrated stage for a good 2 months. Not having something to negate that affect, and put me back into a "happy state" was really hard. Staying strong and committed, this started going away little by little to where I'm more balanced with my moods, and they aren't so sudden and extreme.

Smoking weed creates a lot of paranoia and anxiety in people, which is a fear vibration. Fear vibrations do nothing but dis empower you, they're disconnections from your spirit. When you're connected to spirit, there's nothing to fear, because you know you can handle anything that comes your way, and do it intelligently. If ANYTHING you do creates ANY type of fear vibration in you, that's a clear message that you need to stop doing it.

Quitting marijuana has led to some profound positive changes in my life. It wasn't easy at times, but I am so much happier without it. There are definitely some detox symptoms when you quit. For me it was headaches, back and shoulder pain, anxiety, and anger. Be ready for them, but they don't last long.

The benefits of quitting, and the detox symptoms will be different for everyone, if you have anything you'd like to add, please tell us in the comments section.

I want you to know you have reinforced my decision to quit, to which I am only 1 week in, but surprisingly have ALL the side affects you mentioned, which I was attributing to other things. It makes perfect sense now, and although annoying, are bearable. I have a major deterioration in my memory, short term mainly and somewhat on long term, details, dates etc and am confident after reading your post that this is all a step in the right direction. I start a new demanding job where my attention to details will be crucial it starts in just over 2 months and what a coincidence that I should start seeing improvements by then. Great post. You have inspired me to keep going. Thank you, I think I will pay it forward.