Examine your breasts

Cancers of the breast are very seldom painful. This is why it is so important to use your hands and your eyes when examining your own breasts. Very often, the only sign is a small lump that may appear to grow slowly or hardly at all. This is the time to go to the doctor and insist on further tests. Never leave a lump to 'see what happens next'.

What are you checking your breasts for?

Lumps
Leaking nipples
Wrinkles around the nipple
Puckering
Changes in colour
Changes in skin texture

Find a quiet moment once a month, after your period has finished.

Undressed from the waist up, stand in front of a mirror in a good light.

First look at your breasts

Look
With your arms at your sides, look down at your breasts from all angles - don't forget to look underneath, too.

Lift
Now put your hands on your head, look for any rash around the nipple or anywhere that the skin seems to have changed colour.

Stretch
With your hands right above your head, and look closely for any irregularity of shape or movement. Get familiar with how they look so you'll notice a difference if something changes.

Press
Your hands firmly on your hips. Everything should move smoothly with no dimpling of the skin.

Then feel your breasts

Lying down, examine one breast, then the other, comparing the two.

Begin by squeezing the nipple, gently and noting any discharge. Then, using the flat of your fingers, feel the breast gently, moving your hand in small circular movements.

Work out in a circle from the nipple, checking always that the skin moves freely. Feel the full depth of your breast. You are looking for lumps that weren't there before.

Repeat these movements with your arm above you head and your elbow bent. The breast gland is made up of many small parts which you will probably be able to feel. No part should feel hard.

Finish by feeling the tail of your breast which runs right up under your armpit. Check it slowly, all the way up.

If you do find something, remember that the great majority of lumps or bumps in the breast turn out to be harmless cysts, but do not let this stop you from seeing the doctor. Remember: Breast cancer is curable if it is caught early.

Breast tenderness