In spite of repeated attempts to educate women about breast cancer and how to spot it early on, thousands of women around the world are diagnosed with this disease every month. While many women claim ignorance on their part as the main reason for the same, others indicate that they do not know how to notice breast cancer symptoms in the initial stages. This is where we come into the picture.

Appearance of lumps
If you doubt a person to be suffering from breast cancer, the first sign, and probably one of the most common ones that should ring a bell in your mind is the visibility of lumps. You may start to notice a small, hardened lump under the skin of your breast. Some of these lumps may be rounded and soft while others may be irregular shaped and hard. Some may be painless, but others may pain a lot. So if you notice a strange looking lump on your breast, which you definitely knew did not exist before, get it checked out by a healthcare professional immediately as it would be a breast cancer symptom.

Change in the size of the breast
This is often one of the overlooked breast cancer symptoms. An abnormal change in the size of one or both breasts can indicate breast cancer. While the breasts tend to change in size quite often, regular inspections will help you identify the growth that is abnormal, and this needs to be checked out as soon as possible.

Swollen lymph nodes
Swollen lymph nodes happen to be one of the early breast cancer signs you should never ignore. In certain cases, the cancerous growth can spread to the collarbone or the armpit via the lymph nodes. If you notice the lymph nodes in the areas swelling up and causing pain, visit a healthcare professional to find out the underlying reason for this breast cancer symptom.

Constant pain in and around the breast
Some breast cancers are literally painless unless they reach the advanced stages. Others, however, tend to start a never ending dull pain either in the breast or armpit region and intensify over the course of the next few days or weeks. Constant pain in the breast area can possibly be one of the stage 4 breast cancer symptoms and needs to be reviewed by a doctor, in case it does not reduce after a period.

Change in the texture of skin on and around the breast
In some cases, the skin on and around the breast will become puckered and dimpled. This breast cancer symptom is usually caused by the tumor tugging at the skin around it, as it grows and occurs even before the lump is visible. In some cases, the skin on and around the breast will turn bright red in color and should not be mistaken for an infection.

Skin changes and bloody discharge from the nipple
Another common that pops out when you search online for sign symptoms of breast cancer is the change in skin texture in the nipple area, as well as blood discharge from the nipple. If you notice the presence of an itchy red rash on the nipple, chances are you are suffering from Paget’s disease, a rare form of breast cancer. In some cases, the nipple turns inwards (referred to as an inverted nipple or a pulled-in nipple). There are also instances when you notice a bloodstained liquid trickling out of the nipple even when you do not squeeze the breast. All of these are possible signs of breast cancer, which need to be checked immediately.

Upper back pain
Upper back pain tends to be one of the lesser known symptoms of breast cancer. We may associate back pain with several factors. While the back pain you experience may be due to some other reason, chronic back pain that feels as it is coming from your bones may indicate the onset of breast cancer in your body.

These are some of the breast cancer symptoms you need to be aware before it worsens in time. There may be times when you think you may have breast cancer only to get the issue checked out by a doctor and find out that there is no cause for concern. However, with breast cancer, you can never be too careful. It is very important for you to do routine examinations of your breasts (at least once a month) and have suspicious lumps and pains checked out by a healthcare professional to ensure that you stay safe from breast cancer, especially when every breast cancer is difficult to spot by a mammogram.