The short explanation
There is no special technique you have to get right. The idea is breast awareness: knowing how your own breasts normally look and feel, so you notice a change. Look in a mirror with arms down and then raised, and feel the whole breast, up to the collarbone and into the armpit, with the flat of your fingers — in the shower or lying down, whichever you will actually do. Breasts are naturally lumpy and change across the month, so the question is not "is there a lump?" but "is this new or different for me?"
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- What to look for: a new lump or thickening; a change in size or shape; dimpling or puckering of the skin; redness or a rash on the nipple; a nipple that has newly turned in; discharge that is not milk; or a swelling in the armpit. Pain alone is less often a warning sign.
- If your periods still come, a few days after a period ends is when breasts are usually least lumpy and easiest to compare month to month.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- Checking your own breasts does not replace an examination or screening, and a normal self-check does not mean nothing is there. It also cannot tell you what a change you have found means.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Can you show me what my normal breast tissue feels like?
- Given my age and family history, is screening worth doing?
- This area feels different — is it something to scan?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
- See a clinician within one to two weeks for any change on the list above that is new for you and has not gone after your next period.
- See a clinician within days for bloody nipple discharge, skin that looks like orange peel, or a nipple that has recently pulled inward.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- How should I check my breasts? NHS
- Breast cancer — symptoms NHS
- Breast cancer MedlinePlus (NIH)
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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