Women all over the country — and all over the world — deal with breast cancer diagnoses all the time.
As we saw with Shannen Doherty's battle, cancer is one of the scariest diseases out there, especially because many people don't catch it until too late.
Unfortunately, cancer has a variety of different symptoms, which sometimes makes it hard to recognize. Additionally, many people with cancer don't experience any symptoms at all.
When it comes to breast cancer, most women know to look out for lumps and bumps in their breasts, but there are other symptoms — like breast dimpling — that many women don't know to check for.
Recently, Sherrie Rhodes, a mom who lives in the United Kingdom, was looking at her breasts when she noticed there was some strange dimpling.
Because Sherrie had seen something online that said breast dimpling was a possible sign of breast cancer, she made an appointment with her doctor. And it's a good thing she did — later that week she was diagnosed with cancer.
[H/T: ScaryMommy]
Sherrie posted on Facebook after discovering the dimpling on her breast, and her friends immediately started reaching out and sharing their support for her.
Over 950 people reacted to her post, and over 1,500 shared it on their own pages.
She writes:
Yesterday I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It came as a total shock, as this dimpling (in the pic) is the only symptom I had.
I noticed it end of June, two days later I went to my GP who referred me to the breast clinic.
I went there just over a week ago and had a scan which revealed a mass, I then had a mammogram which confirmed it, so had some biopsies done the same day.
I wasn't too worried, as there was no lump or anything.
Unfortunately, it came back as breast cancer. Please check your breast regularly and don’t ignore anything that is different.
If I hadn't seen a post like this previously I wouldn't have known that this dimpling was a sign of cancer. Please share and raise awareness.
According to Johns Hopkins, "Dimpling around the nipple or on the breast skin," is a serious warning sign of cancer.
While everyone's breasts are different, women should always be on the lookout for sudden changes to the look or feel of their breasts.
In Sherrie's case, noticing the dimpling might have saved her life.
After her original post, Sherrie shared this update:
Couple of hours and I’ll know what my treatment plan is and see if we can fit a holiday in before it all starts. Fingers crossed.
Two days later, Sherrie wrote:
Update — the cancer is in my whole breast so I need to have a mastectomy.
Thankfully, it looks like my lymph nodes are clear at this stage. My left breast is also clear. I'm currently researching reconstruction and it's bloody scary!
After the surgery has settled, I will have chemotherapy and as long as the lymph nodes stay clear there will be no radiotherapy. Thank you all for all your messages of support.
I'm sorry I don't always get round to messing all of you back! You know what I'm like, but I really do appreciate it.
All women should check their breasts once a month for changes.
Contact your doctor if you notice any of the following symptoms:
- Lump in the breast
- Thickening of the breast skin
- Rash or redness of the breast
- Breast swelling
- New onset of breast pain
- Dimpling around the nipple or on the breast skin
- Nipple pain or the nipple turning inward
- Nipple discharge
- Lumps in the underarm area
Please SHARE Sherrie’s message to help other women know the early signs of breast cancer!
To learn more about breast health, check out the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
