Breast cancer

The symptoms you get depend on the type of breast cancer you have. They can include:

• A lump or thickening in your breast or armpit
• A change in size or shape of your breast such as one breast becoming larger than the other
• A change in the skin of your breast, such as puckering, ridges or dimpling (the skin may look like orange peel) or redness
• A breast abscess or boil - this may appear as a red, tender area on your breast.
• A change in your nipple, such as a pulled in, sunken or flattened nipple.
• An unusual discharge (liquid) from one or both of your nipples. The discharge may be blood stained or watery.
• A change on or around the nipple such as a rash or flaky or crusted skin
• Swelling in your armpit or around your collarbone
• Soreness or warmth (inflammatory breast cancer)
• A red scaly rash on one nipple, which may itch or burn (Paget’s disease of the breast)

Breast pain alone is rarely a symptom of breast cancer but it’s always best to talk to your doctor (GP). Read more about breast pain.

Testing for breast cancer when you have no symptoms is called screening.

BreastCheck is the name of the national breast screening programme. Breast screening involves having a mammogram of your breasts. A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast used to find breast cancer when it's too small to see or feel.

BreastCheck offers free breast screening to women, transgender, intersex and non-binary people age 50 to 69. You must be living in Ireland and have a PPS number.