Being familiar with your own body and knowing how to identify changes is one of the best ways to take charge of your health. This is especially true when it comes to your breasts. One in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. The earlier it is caught, the better the prognosis.
“We have several ways to screen for breast cancer but yearly mammograms and clinical breast exams by a medical provider combined with monthly self-breast exams are standard. For some women additional screening tools such as ultrasound and/or breast MRI may be recommended,” says Dr. Tara Grahovac, a board-certified, fellowship-trained breast surgeon with the Beaufort Memorial Breast Care & Surgery Program.
“No single test is perfect, but when you follow the screening recommendations given by your doctor regularly, you significantly increase the chance of early detection and an excellent outcome. Leaving out a screening could delay a diagnosis.”
Read More: Treat Yourself: Health Screenings for Women
While there is debate in the medical community about the effectiveness of breast self-exams, Dr. Grahovac has personally seen how important they are when done consistently.
“I can’t say how many times I’ve had patients come to me who noticed a change in their breasts, and we were able to detect the cancer early,” Dr. Grahovac says. “I encourage all my patients to do monthly breast self-exams, especially those who are at high risk for breast cancer.”
Breast Self-Examination Steps
Standing in front of a mirror:
- Face the mirror with arms by your sides and inspect your breasts.
- Start in the middle of the breast. Press each breast gently with your fingertips in a circular pattern that extends over the breast. Feel for any lumps, thickened skin or changes that seem unusual.
- Raise your arms and repeat the exam, looking for anything abnormal that appears with the change in position.
Lying down:
- Place a pillow behind your right shoulder and put your right arm behind your head.
- Using your left hand, gently move your fingertips over your right breast in a circular pattern until covering the entire breast area and armpit. Check for any abnormalities in the breast.
- Squeeze the nipple to look for discharge or a lump.
- Repeat on the other side.
“Most breast have some lumpiness that is completely normal,” Dr. Grahovac said. “But what a woman should look for is any change from the previous month. Your physician should evaluate any breast changes that are noticeably different.”
Watch for These Changes in Your Breasts
The Know Your Lemons® Foundation is a nonprofit organization that created an easy way to illustrate how breast cancer changes the look or feel of your breasts. The foundation’s Know Your Lemons campaign uses illustrations and descriptions to help educate women on how to detect breast cancer early. Look for the following changes while you complete your breast self-exam:
Thick Area
A thickened area of skin or obvious lump can occur during menstruation or breastfeeding. However, lumps that don’t go away could be tumors growing near the surface of the skin.
Dimple
Tight clothing may leave a temporary dimple or indention. Dimples that don’t go away could be a sign of a tumor deep in the breast. Tumors can pull the skin inward causing an indentation.
Nipple Crust
Crust on the nipple is often harmless, but it may signify Paget’s disease. With this type of breast cancer, cancer cells live inside the nipple, creating a red or white scab-like crust that doesn’t go away. The area may also be sore.
Redness or Heat
These can be signs of an infection, such as mastitis (in breastfeeding women), or a skin condition called eczema. However, if medical treatments don’t help after a week, red or hot areas could be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer.
Unexpected Fluid
Nipple discharge that occurs in the absence of developing breasts, infection, cysts, pregnancy or breastfeeding should be checked out by your doctor.
Skin Sores
Breast cancer can break down the skin and form a wound. If a sore is infected, it may smell or ooze. Sores are often accompanied by an obvious hard lump and require immediate care.
Bump or Hard Lump
A lump or bump that feels like a soft pea or soft bean is normal. A hard or immovable bump that feels like a lemon seed may be cancerous.
Sunken Nipple
Any new nipple changes, such as the nipple flattening or turning inward, could be signs of a breast cancer tumor. A tumor underneath the skin pulls the nipple toward it as it grows.
Growing Vein
Most new blood vessels or veins are connected to weight gain or breastfeeding. However, although uncommon, a pronounced vein near the surface of the skin can also be a sign of breast cancer.
New Shape or Size
Breastfeeding or your menstrual cycle can cause breasts to change. But if one breast unexpectedly changes size, flattens, swells, or droops, this could be a sign of breast cancer.
Orange Peel Skin
Sometimes when a breast swells, it causes hair follicles to look like dimples — similar to the surface of an orange peel. Breast swelling can indicate inflammatory breast cancer.
The Know Your Lemons Foundation just launched its Breast Awareness App that further educates women about breast changes. The app includes a breast cancer risk calculator, a self-exam timer that works with a period tracker and guidance on when to schedule a mammogram.
If you notice any abnormal breast changes during a breast self-exam, contact one of our women’s health providers.
The team of specialists at our Breast Health Center can guide you on further testing, which may include a 3D mammogram or screening ultrasound.
All images courtesy of Know Your Lemons Foundation under a Creative Commons license.
