Reduce Your Risk – Get to Know Your Breasts

While breast self-exams are no longer officially a recommendation from the American Cancer Society, it’s important to know your breasts.

  • How do they normally feel?
  • How are they normally shaped?
  • If you feel pain, does it come and go each month around the same time as your menstrual cycle? Or is it constant and always in the same place?

It’s important to know your body – all parts of your body, including your breasts. If you know your own body, you will know when something doesn’t seem right.

If you develop any of the following symptoms of breast cancer, report it to your doctor as soon as possible:

  • Breast Lump
  • Skin dimpling or skin looking like an orange peel
  • Nipple retraction (turning inward)
  • Nipple/areola skin that is red, dry, flaking or thickened
  • Nipple discharge other than breast milk (bloody or clear like water)
  • Swollen lymph nodes (under the arm or around the collar bone – these can sometimes be felt even before the original tumor in the breast)
  • Swelling of the breast (even if no pain)
  • Breast or nipple pain which persists in one pinpoint spot and never goes away, especially if associated with a breast lump

Is it time for your annual breast cancer screening? Schedule your mammogram at one of our UofL Health breast care centers. Call 502-681-1405 or visit UofLHealth.org/Screenings to learn more.

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Article by: Brian Mattingly, M.D.

Brian Mattingly, M.D., is a breast imaging radiologist at UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center, Medical Center East and Medical Center Northeast. He specializes in mammography, breast ultrasound and breast MRI, as well as imaging guided biopsies and procedures using these modalities. He received a bachelor’s degree from Centre College, a master of science in biomedical engineering from the University of Kentucky and a medical degree from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He completed his internship in internal medicine at Saint Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis and both his radiology residency and breast imaging fellowship at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. He is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology and is a member of the Society of Breast Imaging; American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America; and the American Roentgen Ray Society.

All posts by Brian Mattingly, M.D.
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