When it comes to breast health and your body in general, clear skin is healthy skin. The skin on your breasts should naturally be more or less flat and smooth. Again, consistency is key. Bumps and birthmarks that are always present are not a problem.
Look at your breasts directly and in the mirror. Look for changes in skin texture, such as dimpling, puckering, indentations, or skin that looks like an orange peel. Also note the shape and outline of each breast. Check to see if the nipple turns inward.
Breasts are made up of milk systems, fat, lymph nodes, veins and nerves. They do not have muscles, but there is some fibrous tissue. Some lumpiness, tissue that feels like a rope or a thick cord, or dense masses of tissue are usually natural and normal.
See a GP if you notice any of the following changes: a change in the size, outline or shape of your breast. a change in the look or feel of the skin on your breast, such as puckering or dimpling, a rash or redness. a new lump, swelling, thickening or bumpy area in one breast or armpit that was not there before.
A breast lump or mass is the most obvious and well-known potential indicator of breast cancer. A lump in the breast may be visible to the eye or felt with your hands during a self-breast exam. But lumps or areas of swelling around the breast, under the armpit or near the collar bone may also be signs of cancer.
Some breast cancers feel like distinct lumps or bumps in the tissue. Others feel like a “shelf” just beneath the skin. Some can be easily moved around under the surface. Others can't.
Early warning signs of invasive breast cancer
Increase in breast size or shape (over a short period of time) Changes in touch (may feel hard, tender or warm) Peeling or flaking of the nipple skin. A breast lump or thickening.
Abnormal mammogram results occur when breast imaging detects an irregular area of the breast that has the potential to be malignant. This could come in the form of small white spots called calcifications, lumps or tumors called masses, and other suspicious areas.
It is normal for breast tissue to feel lumpy or rope-like, particularly in the glandular tissue in the upper outer quadrants of each breast. Breast tissue will commonly change with your menstrual cycle, and you may notice tenderness and lumpiness at regular times in the month.
What's Considered “Normal” Dimpling? Normal dimpling is usually due to noncancerous lumps or fat necrosis, often confused with breast cancer. Fat necrosis can cause firm, round lumps to form in the breast, but they are not cancerous. 11 The skin around the lump may look dimpled, thickened, bruised, or red.
Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice: A hard lump or knot near your underarm. Changes in the way your breasts look or feel, including thickening or prominent fullness that is different from the surrounding tissue. Dimples, puckers, bulges or ridges on the skin of your breast.
The breasts are best examined while lying down because it spreads the breast tissue evenly over the chest.
Dense (fibrous and glandular) breast tissue looks white on a mammogram. Breast masses and cancers can also look white, so the dense tissue can make it harder to see them. In contrast, fatty tissue looks almost black on a mammogram, so it's easier to see a tumor that looks white if most of the breast is fat tissue.
Reasons to consult a health care provider include: Finding a new breast lump or thickening that feels different from the surrounding tissue or the other breast. Noticing a change in the size, shape or appearance of a breast. Having breast pain that doesn't go away after the next period.
A breast lump will be noticeably more solid than the surrounding breast tissue. Breast lumps can vary in size, shape, and feel. Some may be the size of a pea, while others may be larger than a golf ball. Breast lumps may feel round, smooth, and moveable, or may be hard, jagged, and stationary.
Signs and symptoms of early stage breast cancer
They recommend a person talk with their doctor if they experience any of the following symptoms or signs: swelling or thickening of breast. pain in any part of the breast. new lump under armpit or in breast.
A mammogram can often find or detect breast cancer early, when it's small and even before a lump can be felt. This is when it's likely to be easiest to treat. What are the main uses of mammograms? A screening mammogram is used to look for signs of breast cancer in women who don't have any breast symptoms or problems.
Most likely breast pain is from hormonal fluctuations from menstruation, pregnancy, puberty, menopause, and breastfeeding. Breast pain can also be associated with fibrocystic breast disease, but it is a very unusual symptom of breast cancer.
Although most breast cancers do not cause pain in the breast or nipple, some do. More often, women have breast pain or discomfort related to their menstrual cycle. Also, some non-cancer breast conditions, such as mastitis, may cause a more sudden pain.
Signs and symptoms of a breast cyst include: A smooth, easily movable round or oval lump that may have smooth edges — which typically, though not always, indicates it's benign. Nipple discharge that may be clear, yellow, straw colored or dark brown. Breast pain or tenderness in the area of the breast lump.
Commonly developing from the mammary glands or ducts, such malignant lumps generally (about 50 percent) appear in the upper, outer quadrant of the breast, extending into the armpit, where tissue is thicker than elsewhere.