Breast Cancer Awareness Month. How Well Do You Know Your Breasts

October is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As per the researchers, women should have a good idea on how normal breasts look like from the very young age.

According to Dr Evelyn, you are your own yardstick and you need to be really in tune with what your normal breast feels like from an early age (after puberty is the best time to start).

“The earlier you understand what your normal breasts feel like, and start becoming aware of changes in your breasts”, the easier you will find it to compare how your breast feels, she says.

“Starting early also means that you develop the routine, so that every month, after your period, you remind yourself to check your breasts.

All women should be checking their breasts every month, especially women below their 40s who don’t need mammograms yet.

So what should we be checking for?

• What you should look for is a change, any change, in your breast. Don’t wait for all these changes to affect the whole breast, even a small part should be a matter of concern.
• You should not just be looking for a lump. “It’s not always a lump. In fact, I would say that if you wait for a lump, it will become very big before you can feel it,” says Dr Evelyn.
• Of course, if you do feel a lump, you should go and get it sorted out.”
• Other things to look out for are characteristics that you have never seen before that have suddenly appeared, such as an area that has suddenly become hard, a change in the texture of the breast, the skin turning orange, or a part of the breast becoming puckered inwards.
• Your breast isn’t just a piece of flesh on your body, so here are some things to note:
• Don’t expect all parts of the breast to feel the same. In some women, the upper, outer part of the breast may feel lumpier, which may just be normal texture.
• Nobody’s breasts are totally smooth on the inside, because the breast contains several types of tissues. Whether these tissues are soft or hard depend on the individual.
• No two breasts are the same. What could be normal in one person, could be abnormal in another.“If you think you feel something hard like a lump, or something is wrong, then an ultrasound combined with an examination can be done,” says Dr Evelyn.

  There’s no need to be angry with yourself if you forgot to check your breasts this month. Simply remind yourself next month, and keep up the routine.

  And talk to your daughter, sister, mother or aunt about this – no woman is too young or too old to know her breasts.

Source: The Star