8 Early Signs Of Breast Cancer Doctors Want You To Know About

If you don’t already have it down-pat to scan your breasts occasionally for lumps — which can be an early signal of cancer — consider this your sign to make it your new monthly habit. An easy way to do it is in the shower: Use your three middle fingers to press down (using light, medium, and then firm pressure) all over your breast. You’re looking for lumps, of course, but also any knots, as well as any spots that feel thicker than usual. Once you’ve done this for several months and you’ve gotten to know your breasts, you’ll also be looking for anything that feels different.

But it’s not just your breasts that you should be checking. “Beyond feeling a lump in your breast, you may also feel a lump in your underarm,” Dr. Crystal Fancher M.D., a surgical breast oncologist at the Margie Petersen Breast Center at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, tells Bustle. These lumps can indicate that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit, which can also swell up whenever you feel sick or are fighting off an illness. This is still classified as an early sign if the lumps in your boob and underarm are small.

Nipple discharge is common, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that something is wrong (even if you aren’t pregnant or lactating). Then again, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it can be an early sign of breast cancer. In particular, Yeh says that bloody nipple discharge is a known sign of breast cancer. It can also be caused by other, more benign illnesses, like blockages in your milk ducts. A good rule of thumb is, if blood shows up, you should seek medical attention.

Retraction of the nipple, where it suddenly turns from an outie to an innie, can be a sign of cancer, Dr. Fancher says. This is because the cancerous tissue might be pulling at the wall of your boobs, drawing the nipple inward. If this happens on any other part of the breast, too, it could point to cancer.

“On your breast, you may notice dimpling of the skin, swelling or redness, or an orange peel appearance of the skin,” Dr. Fancher says. Anything like puffiness or a noticeable change in the texture of your chest's skin should also be checked out, Dr. Reitherman says. “Although unlikely, any changes can be a sign of breast cancer.”

If the skin on your boobs changes color in a particular area and you don’t know why, that could be a symptom of breast cancer. Dr. Fancher says darkening skin is a particular concern, as is persistent, unexplained redness. “These changes may be noticeable only in certain positions relative to gravity,” Dr. Reitherman says. “It is important to check for this category of change when you are lying down on your back rolling side to side, bending over, or upright facing a mirror while positioning your hands behind your neck.”

Any change in your boob’s size or shape, Dr. Fancher says, should be noted, as should any changes in the way they feel. Some people get swollen breasts during their period that then shrink when the period stops, but cancer won't be like that; the change will likely seem to be permanent, or won't change depending on where you are in your cycle.

“Patchy rashes on your nipples, skin swelling, and other skin changes can be signs,” Dr. Yeh says. Itching, flaking, or crusting on one nipple can be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer. It could also be a symptom of Paget’s Disease. Paget's Disease is an inflammation of the nipple that's associated with breast cancer; 1 to 4% of all breast cancer patients experience it. It can be hard to distinguish whether nipple irritation is eczema, an allergic reaction, or something else, so it's a good idea to go to the doctor.

“New pain in one area of the breast that does not go away may also be a sign,” Dr. Fancher says. But, Dr. Reitherman says, boob pain can be difficult to assess. “Most commonly, focal pain is cycle related and may vary from month to month,” he says. If it's still there after a bruise or swelling from your period would have subsided, talk to a doctor – and if you find any skin thickening or a hard lump along with the pain, Dr. Reitherman says, you need to take urgent action.