Breast cancer in Women is one of the rapid increasing diseases that has been occurring in recent years. It is highly important that cancer should be detected during the early stages else it might lead to severe complexities. The earlier it is diagnosed, there are successful chances of treatment. Thus, it is quite important to have a thorough look at your breast regularly.
Table of Contents
How should you check your breast?
One of the first symptoms of breast cancer is appearing of lumps on the breast. There are many other signs and symptoms of breast cancer.
Pain is another sign but that cannot always be a sign of breast cancer. You should know that you should be checking the whole breast area, that also involves the upper chest and the armpits.
Breast Cancer Symptoms
As mentioned above, an extra lump on the breast is one of the most common symptoms of breast cancer. Let the doctor perform the check up to let you know about the final result. There is lumps formation which might not be cancer.
Other symptoms of breast cancer are –
- Changes in nipples
- Redness or the thickening of the nipple
- Bloody or translucent discharge from the nipple
- The dimpled skin on the breast
- Change in the texture and colour of the breast
- Breast pain
- Change of shape and size of the breast
1. Nipple Changes
- Every woman has slight different nipples. These changes are nothing to worry about. Still, it is always better to be alert regarding the shape, size and colour of your nipples. And better have a checkup to the doctor.
- One of the signs of breast cancer is that the nipples of your breast tend to push in towards your body. It should be normally pointing out. This instance is called inverted.
- If you view any change in the texture or colour of the nipple, it might be a sign of breast cancer. If you tend to find out orange peeling of the skin, or the nipple turning red or purple, there are higher changes of symptoms of breast cancer.
- If you haven’t been breastfeeding and you find fluid coming out of your nipple, it is better to consult with the doctor to know the reason behind it.
Any other conditions for nipple change?
- There are some women who are blessed with inverted nipples. If that might have been the case, there is nothing to think about.
- There is a certain infection called mammary duct ectasia which also creates a change in the nipple but it mainly occurs to women above the age of 50 years.
- Women who breastfeed is normal for the discharge of milky fluid.
- And if that is not the thing, there are conditions, like an injury to the breast, benign tumour, due to excessive intake of birth control pills or any other related infection.
2. Breast skin changes
- Change in the colour of the skin of the breast might be a sign of cancer.
- If you find any certain changes like crusting, flakes, dimpling of the skin like an orange peel, swelling, redness, sores that do not tend to heal, itching, bleeding, changes in the colour of the skin, or even when the veins in the breast are quite visible enough.
- This can mainly be the sign of increased flow of blood to cancer.
- Then again, it is not mandatory than changes in the colour of the skin always have to be the sign and symptom of breast cancer. There are other infections too. It is always better to consult the doctor if you tend to find such appearance on your breast.
What other conditions can cause breast skin changes?
There are other skin infections like rashes and moles which tend to clear up within a few numbered days. If it still persists, you should visit a doctor for a proper check up.
3. Change in breast size
At times, there are changes in the size and shape of the breast. This can be one of the signs of breast cancer. If you tend to see a sudden change in the breast size and if continues to grow, it is time that you should visit your doctor. Let the doctor perform the test and see into the matter.
What other conditions can cause a change in breast size?
- Some women naturally born with the differed sized breast. If it has been different since birth then there is nothing to worry about.
- There are certain hormonal changes during pregnancy and menopause. If it continues to persist and retains for a longer time, it is high time that you should consult the doctor.
4. Breast Pain
- It is a rare case in breast cancer to cause pain. But then again 7 per cent of the women tend to suffer from breast pain with a lump that might be a sign of breast cancer. The pain might commence from the lump and then it passes on to the nearby nerves.
- Inflammatory breast cancer is one of the rarest forms of the disease that can lead to burning pain in your breast. The affected area might be swollen as well as red and might even have orange peeled skin.
- Coming to this conditions and symptom of breast cancer, it is more likely to spread. Thus, it is very much necessary for you to visit the doctor as soon as possible.
What other conditions can cause breast pain?
- Breast pain is not that severe of a sign of breast cancer. There are other reasons. This might include puberty, menstrual periods, breastfeeding, breast surgery, menopause, injury to the breast and fibrocystic breasts.
- If you tend to feel the pain like burning, tightness or stabbing which is not connected to your period or other mentioned aspects, straight away visit your doctor.
How often should you check your breast?
It does not matter when you are checking your breast. If you are checking them on a regular basis it is completely fine. You can do this every month or might be every 6 months. It is important for you to notice the changes beforehand so that you can take some actions for a successful recovery.
When you get to know things about your breast, you will be able to view changes with age or during a different time of the month. For example, your breast will look more tender and heavy just before the commencement of your period days. There are certain hormonal changes during the first few months of the pregnancy, where your breast will tend to become heavier and also feel kind of sore.
