How to self-check for dimples in breasts

Gynecological diseases have always troubled every woman and brought a lot of trouble to life. Female gynecological diseases generally include breast disease, vaginitis, cervical erosion, etc., each of which is very troublesome. After giving birth, when the baby stops drinking milk, breast diseases will follow. Breast cancer is the most terrifying. If the breasts start to have dimples, it may be breast cancer. You should go to the hospital for examination immediately. There are many ways we can also do self-examination.

When you discover dimples on your breasts, do you think it’s cute? However, this cute "dimple shape" may become a killer that threatens your life - breast cancer.

Breast cancer often occurs on the outer and upper part of the breast. The typical symptoms are painless breast lumps with unclear boundaries, hard texture, rough surface, poor mobility, and sometimes adhesion of the skin to the lump. When the lump is pinched, the skin will become concave, which is clinically called "dimple syndrome." As the disease progresses, the breast skin becomes edematous, multiple small nodules appear around the tumor, the skin becomes hard, and the nipple may retract and rise due to the traction of the tumor.

Self-examination methods for breast cancer

1. Lie on your back, place a not-too-high pillow or a folded towel under your left shoulder, raise your left arm, place your left hand under your head, stretch out your right fingers, and divide the breast into 4 areas. Start from the midpoint of the upper part, and massage and check in a clockwise direction with your fingers close to the skin. Avoid grabbing or pinching the breast with your hands. The examination focuses on the upper outer area because most breast cancers occur in this area.

2. Take off your shirt, stand in front of a mirror, and let your upper limbs hang naturally in relaxation. Observe the size and shape of both breasts, whether they are symmetrical or deformed, whether there are small depressions in the breasts, whether the nipples are inverted, and whether the breast skin has orange peel-like changes.

3. Gently grasp the nipple to see if bloody or serous secretions can be squeezed out. If so, a pathological smear can be done to look for tumor cells. Breast self-examination should be performed 4 to 7 days after the end of menstruation, preferably once a month.

4. Stand up straight and place your hands under your armpits to check for swollen lymph nodes.