Breast Health

Breast awareness (knowing what's normal for your breasts) from age 20. Clinical breast exam by a doctor annually from 30. Mammography every 1-2 years from 40-45 for average-risk women (earlier if strong family history — often 10 years before the youngest affected relative's diagnosis age). Indian women are diagnosed 10-15 years younger than Western women on average, which is why earlier screening matters here.

Once monthly, ideally a few days after your period ends (breasts are least tender then), or on the same date each month post-menopause. Use a systematic method: visual inspection in the mirror (arms down, arms up, hands on hips), then feel each breast with the flat pads of three fingers using circular motions, covering the whole area including under the arm. What you're looking for: lumps, thickening, dimpling, nipple changes, discharge, or anything different from usual.

A new lump or thickening (even small), change in size or shape, skin dimpling or puckering, nipple inversion or discharge (especially bloody), redness or scaling, or persistent pain in one spot. Most breast lumps turn out to be non-cancerous (cysts, fibroadenomas) but need evaluation to confirm. Don't wait 'to see if it goes away' — a quick check is worth the peace of mind or the early treatment.

Mammography involves brief compression of the breast which can be uncomfortable but is not usually painful — the discomfort lasts seconds. The radiation dose is small (similar to a few weeks of natural background radiation) and the benefit of early cancer detection substantially outweighs this small risk for women in the recommended age groups. For dense breasts (more common in Indian women), ultrasound may be added.

Family history (especially first-degree relatives with breast or ovarian cancer), BRCA1/2 mutations, early menstruation or late menopause, later first pregnancy or no children, hormone replacement therapy, alcohol, obesity (especially post-menopause), physical inactivity, and dense breast tissue. Many women with no risk factors still develop breast cancer — which is why screening is universal, not just for high-risk women.