Breast Cancer - Know Self Checks To Access It!

Breast cancer is most common cancer in women but can occur in men as well. It follows the same path as any other cancer, the cells start growing at an alarming rate and can even spread to other parts of the body. These cells form a cluster or a lump inside the breast and it’s usually a noticeable lump. Breast cancers can originate at any part of the breast or the arm pit.

Breast cancer does not always mean there will be a lump though, sometimes it can be detected through a screening mammogram, especially, programmed to detect cancers at an early stage even before the symptoms start to show or can be felt. 

Yet there are a lot of telling signs of breast cancer that might go unnoticed by the untrained eye, so for your benefit, here are some questions that you should ask yourself: 

1. Does your nipple/breast feel unusual? Signs of this include; 

   • Lump near the nipple or anywhere in the breast or underarm area 

   • Soreness near the nipple area involving skin irritation, rashes and redness 

   • “orange peel texture”, when your breast feels like the texture of an orange peel,

2. Does your nipple/breast look unusual? Signs of this include; 

   • uneven breasts, where one side is more swollen or has shrivelled 

   • your nipple might be turning inwards or looks inverted 

   • small indentations or dimpling of the breast 

   • colour of the nipple might change due to inflammation and redness 

3. Is there any discharge from your nipple? If you see your nipple discharging fluids and you are not lactating then check the colour of the discharge. It could be bloody, clear liquid or a yellow discharge. 

4. Are the veins in your breasts prominent? If the veins in your breasts have become visible and easily noticeable then it is a sign that you should get checked for breast cancer.