An important way to keep up with your breast health is to be aware of how your breasts normally look and feel, and know what changes to look for.
Finding breast cancer as early as possible gives you a better chance of successful treatment. But knowing what to look for is not a substitute for screening mammograms and other tests, which can help find breast cancer in its early stages, even before any symptoms appear.
Below are some common breast symptoms and what they might mean. If you have any of them, get checked right away.
1. Swelling in or around your breast, collar bone, or armpit
Breast swelling can be caused by inflammatory breast cancer, a particularly aggressive form of the disease.
Swelling or lumps around your collarbone or armpits can be caused by breast cancer that has spread to lymph nodes in those areas. The swelling may occur even before you can feel a lump in your breast, so if you have this symptom, be sure to see a doctor.
