How to check your breasts each month. LOOK at the shape and appearance of your breasts and nipples in the mirror with your hands by your sides. Raise your arms above your head and have another look. FEEL all of your breasts and nipples, looking for anything that isn't normal for you.
What does a breast lump feel like? Breast tissue in and of itself can feel somewhat lumpy and sponge-like, so it can be hard to know if what you're feeling is an actual lump or just normal breast tissue. "A breast lump will feel like a distinct mass that's noticeably more solid than the rest of your breast tissue.
Place your hands at your sides and visually examine your breasts in the mirror, checking for anything which is not normal for your breasts – LOOK for changes in colour, size or shape, any dimpling of the skin or “pulling-in” of the nipple.
Pressure should be just enough to move the skin without disturbing the tissue underneath. Pressing too hard at first could cause a lump to move out of the way. Medium - On the second circle, use medium pressure to feel for changes below the sur- face to mid-level of the breast tissue.
Symptoms of stage 1 breast cancer include:
Skin irritation or dimpling. Swelling of all or part of the breast. Redness, scaling, flaking, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin. A change in the size or the shape of the breast.
A lump in your breast or underarm that doesn't go away. This is often the first symptom of breast cancer. Your doctor can usually see a lump on a mammogram long before you can see or feel it. Swelling in your armpit or near your collarbone.
Fibroadenomas are solid, smooth, firm, noncancerous (benign) lumps that are most commonly found in women in their 20s and 30s. They are the most common benign lumps in women and can occur at any age. They are increasingly being seen in postmenopausal women who are taking hormone therapy.
Breast pain can be due to many possible causes. 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.
Most breast cancers don't cause any pain, even if they first appear as a lump or a bump.
Lumps that feel harder or different from the rest of the breast (or the other breast) or that feel like a change are a concern and should be checked. This type of lump may be a sign of breast cancer or a benign breast condition (such as a cyst or fibroadenoma).
Lumps in a woman are most often either fibroadenomas or cysts, or just normal variations in breast tissue known as fibrocystic changes. Fibrocystic changes are painful, lumpy breasts. This is a benign condition that does not increase your risk for breast cancer.
Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older. Some women will get breast cancer even without any other risk factors that they know of.
Most breast cancers begin in the ducts or lobules. Breast cancer can spread outside the breast through blood vessels and lymph vessels. When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it is said to have metastasized.
A breast lump that's painless, hard, irregularly shaped and different from surrounding breast tissue might be breast cancer. Skin covering the lump may look red, dimpled or pitted like the skin of an orange. Your breast size and shape may change, or you may notice discharge from the nipple.
Signs that breast cancer may have spread to the brain
Feeling sick (nausea) and being sick (vomiting) especially when waking in the morning. Weakness or feeling numb down one side of the body. Dizziness, unsteadiness or loss of balance and co-ordination.
Breast cancer has to divide 30 times before it can be felt. Up to the 28th cell division, neither you nor your doctor can detect it by hand. With most breast cancers, each division takes one to two months, so by the time you can feel a cancerous lump, the cancer has been in your body for two to five years.
Potential reasons behind this statistic include larger left breast size, more frequent self-screening of left breast, and right-side breastfeeding preferences.
One is called the seven P's of BSE, after seven steps that are named to have the same first initial: Positions, Perimeter, Palpation, Pressure, Pattern, Practice, and Planning what to do if a change is found in the breast tissue.
Begin at the innermost portion of the breast, near the breastbone. With the flat portions of the fingertips, move down your breast pressing firmly and gently. Slide your fingers slightly and move up your breast, then down, and so forth, until the entire breast area has been examined.
Complications associated with breast self-examination are principally secondary to false-positive findings resulting in increased benign lesion identification, unnecessary imaging, biopsies, and anxiety provoked by a possible cancer diagnosis.