Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 8 common signs of breast cancer
Every October, people all over the world show their support for everyone affected by breast cancer. This blog post is to help you understand the signs and symptoms, and to remind you to TOUCH, LOOK and CHECK.
Touch: Can you feel anything new or unusual?
Look: Does anything look different?
Check: Always check with your GP if you notice any changes!
When examining your breasts, check all parts of your breasts, your armpits, and up to your collar bone (upper chest). No matter what size or shape your breasts are, you should check them regularly.
Before going into the signs and symptoms, we wanted to thank anyone who is taking part in #WearItPink day across our ExtraCare locations, and an even bigger thank you to one of our own, Director of Governance and Compliance Angela Carpenter, who sat down to discuss with us her own breast cancer journey and help spread awareness.
![](https://www.extracare.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/06/Screenshot-2023-06-14-at-15.55.32-optimized.png)
Breast Cancer Awareness: Our Director Angela Tells Us Her Story
Breast Cancer Awareness: Our Director Angela Tells Us Her Story
What key changes to look out for:
1. A lump or swelling in the breast, upper chest or armpit.
2. A change to the skin, such as puckering or dimpling.
3. A change in the colour of the breast, it could look red or inflamed.
4. A nipple change, for example it has become pulled in (inverted).
5. Rash or crusting around the nipple.
6. Unusual liquid (discharge) from either nipple.
7. Changes in size or shape of the breast.
8. Breast pain on its own is not usually a sign of cancer, however do look out for pain in your breast or armpit that is there either all of or most of the time.
(Some of the above signs and symptoms may appear differently on various skin tones.)
![](https://www.extracare.org.uk/app/uploads/2023/06/breast-cancer-awareness-month-optimized.png)
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