What will you do this Breast Cancer Awareness Month?
Show your Breasts some TLC
Touch Look Check
Most breast cancers are detected by women who report unusual changes to their doctor. This statistic highlights the importance of being breast aware.
Breast awareness means knowing what your breasts look and feel like normally, so you can be aware of any changes and check them out with your doctor as soon as possible. If cancer is diagnosed, prompt treatment offers the best chance of a successful outcome.
So the message from Breakthrough Breast Cancer is simple:
Touch your breasts. Feel for anything unusual.
Look for changes. Be aware of their shape and texture.
Check anything unusual with your doctor. Chat with your friends if you are worried.
There is no need to follow a fancy routine for examining your breasts, just be familiar with how they look and feel so that you notice changes. You can do this by looking and feeling in any way that makes you feel comfortable – in the bath or shower, when dressing, standing or lying down.
If you find anything unusual or are worried, you should talk to your GP.
Changes to look out for include:
- Size or shape – e.g. one breast might become larger or lower than the other.
- Skin texture – such as puckering or dimpling of the skin.
- Appearance or direction of nipple – e.g. one nipple might become inverted (turned-in).
- Discharge - one or both nipples might discharge a blood-stained liquid
- Rash or crusting of the nipple or surrounding area.
- Lump in the breast or armpit.
- Lumpy area or unusual thickening of breast tissue that doesn’t go away after a woman’s period.
Remember that nine out of ten breast lumps are not cancerous
Source:
Breakthrough - A UK Charity: Our vision is a future free from the fear of breast cancer
