Breast Health and Awareness

Your breasts change throughout your life, so what matters is knowing what's normal for you, and noticing when something changes. In this video, I'll explain which changes to get checked; what happens at the clinic; what screening can do; and what affects your risk. Breast tissue responds to hormones - so, many women find their breasts feel fuller and lumpier before a period, then softer once it starts. Pregnancy; breastfeeding; the pill, and HRT can change them too. After the menopause, breasts usually soften, so a new change at that stage deserves more attention. UK advice has moved away from checking your breasts on a set day each month, because large trials found it didn't reduce deaths. The charity Breast Cancer Now sums up the simpler approach as: Touch; Look; and Check. That means feeling for anything new, looking for changes in your skin, nipples or shape; and getting anything unusual checked by a doctor. There's no right technique or day, so look and feel in whatever way you find easiest; such as in the shower or while dressing. Make sure you include your upper chest and armpits, and remember that men have breast tissue too, so the same changes apply to them. Most breast changes aren't cancer; but the ones that are, cannot be told apart by feel. So please see your GP about a new lump or swelling in your breast, upper chest or armpit. The same goes for a change in the size or shape of one breast, dimpled skin, a nipple that has pulled in or a nipple rash. Discharge that appears from one nipple without squeezing; and breast pain that's there almost all of the time, should also be checked. If your GP thinks you need urgent assessment, such as for an unexplained lump at 30 years of age or over; you'll usually be seen within two weeks. A breast that becomes swollen, red and painful over a few days is different, because it needs to be seen that day or the next. Please don't wait for a routine appointment. If you're referred to my clinic, we aim to complete what's called a triple assessment in a single visit. A specialist examines you, and you'll usually have an ultrasound; a mammogram, or both. A needle sample is only taken if something needs a closer look, and many women leave with an answer that day. Breast screening is for women with no symptoms, and in England it's offered every three years from 50 until your 71st birthday. Of the few women called back for more tests; three in four turn out not to have cancer. Screening saves lives, but it also finds some cancers that would never have caused harm, and we can't yet tell which ones they are. For every life that screening saves, there are also around three women who are treated for a cancer that wouldn't have harmed them. When breast cancer is found at stage one, while it's still small and within the breast, almost every woman is alive five years later. Once it has spread to other parts of the body, that falls to approximately three in ten. That's why acting on changes early matters so much. Nearly a quarter of UK breast cancers are linked to things that can be changed, such as alcohol, extra weight after the menopause and inactivity. But most risk isn't within anyone's control, and a diagnosis is never anybody's fault. Most women with breast cancer have no family history, but a strong one may mean extra screening from the age of 40. Some women have dense breasts, meaning more glandular tissue and less fat, which makes a mammogram harder to read. Density isn't reported in routine UK screening, and private extra scans can find more cancers but also bring more false alarms and biopsies. So please do talk it through with us before deciding to go ahead. A quarter of breast cancers are found at 75 years of age or over, after routine screening invitations stop, so staying breast aware matters at every age. If you've noticed a change or have any questions; please get in touch with me or my team.