To ask how to actually check your breasts?!

[goingforatrot]

I know how the methods tell you online/NHS

But I don't know how I'd spot a change Mine are absolutely riddled with lumps and have been for quite some years now (breastfeeding cause)

How would I know if something is actually wrong?

I know about changes in the skin/nipple. That's different. But lumps? Couldn't spot one

You get to know what’s normal for you, check a few days after a period. Lumpy tissue is different from an actual lump.

One of my friends pays a donation to lady mcadden annually and has them check her over for reassurance.

You can also ask your GP for advice.

Boom Thing is I had a lump I was suspicious of a few months ago. I went to the GP and he was concerned too

2 weeks later, I was at the breast clinic. I had an ultrasound on it and they said straight away it's just tissue, caused by breastfeeding, not to worry about lumpy boobs etc

So I'm still feeling in the dark

@goingforatrot

I’m in the same position. Also caused by breastfeeding I think! I lie flat on my back and press down around my breast, looking for a new hard lump. I try to feel around like they did at the clinic! But it’s very hard with lumpy breasts! My mum isn’t from England and says in her country they are taught how to check for lumps

@User5827372728 It's so difficult isn't it?!

I think maybe we need to have more widely available info that you'd stumble across - So perhaps a few NHS type posters at stations etc with the steps on.

I also think something should be done about actually teaching women to check, and maybe incorporating that into last year of senior school for the girls. Not so early that they'd forget, but at 16 you're more likely to remember etc

It's really difficult to answer this because I was highly breast aware due to family history. I had lumpy boobs and after my third mammogram in ten years the specialist told me I just had lumpy boobs and not to get concerned every time, else I would be down there every fortnight.

Two years later I was diagnosed with a huge breast cancer tumour. No lump existed. My only exterior sign was "thickening" which I could not detect as any different from my other boob, even when I was told it was there.

Thickening is one of the most common signs of breast cancer in a young woman but we are never told about it ...we don't know what it is or how to look for it or distinguish it. It makes me SO angry. I know a lot of women who have died young from this disease as a result and my life has been a nightmare of non stop treatment for years as a result.

So, please google "thickening". If in doubt, go to the GP as they are trained to detect it (mine found it).

Every lump should be investigated so that’s the right thing to do. I’ve had 5 investigated now.

@goingforatrot

Boom Thing is I had a lump I was suspicious of a few months ago. I went to the GP and he was concerned too

2 weeks later, I was at the breast clinic. I had an ultrasound on it and they said straight away it's just tissue, caused by breastfeeding, not to worry about lumpy boobs etc

So I'm still feeling in the dark

You're not in the dark though; you're aware and sensible and knew to get a new lump checked out. What it turns out to be is not the issue and you're not 'wrong' because it turned out to be benign. Anything new/different is worth checking. Most of the time it'll be nothing, but that doesn't matter.

PS I agree breast awareness should be incorporated into senior school.

What do u mean by thickening? And how this thickening was detected? Ultrasound or mammogram?

Google Dr Liz O’Riordan breast cancer check. She’s a breast surgeon who’s had breast cancer & she’s made some great videos and a poem about how to check & what to look for.
I was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer last year & wish I’d known more of what to look for. I had no lumps but other signs that I missed. I had thickening too - it’s literally when your breast has some tissue that feels thicker inside. I didn’t know it was a big sign of lobular cancer & was too young for the regular checks/mammograms.
Please all watch her videos, learn how to check yourself & know what’s normal for you.