BREAST
awareness
- Most cases of breast cancer are found by women noticing unusual changes, taking the initiative and visiting their doctor.
- The earlier breast cancer is diagnosed, the better the chance of successful treatment– so you can see how important it is to make regular checks.
- Women's breasts change; during adolescence, during the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy and breast-feeding and as a consequence of the menopause.
Most breast changes are not due to cancer
Suspicion of breast cancer can only be confirmed after careful clinical examination and after a number of tests have been undertaken:
1
Breast lumps
Most breast lumps are not cancerous but represent changes within the breast tissue. As your breasts develop, changes occur. These changes are influenced by normal growth and hormonal changes.
2
Nipple discharge and lesions of nipple
There are many causes of nipple discharge. Unless there is blood in the discharge, the discharge is likely to be a benign breast change.
3
Breast pain
Breast pain can be due to a variety of innocent causes. The most common are puberty and pregnancy. However, most women develop breast pain at some stage in life.
A third of women don’t check their breasts regularly for signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Women say this is because they don’t know how to do it or because they are scared of finding something. But checking your breasts regularly – breast awareness – is vital to women of any age because if you find a change that turns out to be cancer, the sooner it’s diagnosed the more effective the treatment is likely to be.
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