THIS October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Macmillan Cancer Support is urging the public to learn about the signs and symptoms of the UK’s most common type of cancer.

The charity says that every year, around 41,826 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in England.

Macmillan Metastatic Breast Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist Kate Lansdell from Derriford hospital says; “The good news is that due to early diagnosis and treatment, survival rates are generally high with around 84% of women living beyond five years after treatment.

“That said there’s still plenty of work to do; with improving survival rates more and more people are dealing with long term effects of breast cancer and its treatment, and over 11,700 women are still dying from breast cancer in the UK every year. This means it’s as important as ever that people know the signs and symptoms to look out for. Men should also be vigilant too – whilst very rare in males, they still account for 1% of those diagnosed.”

Some of the symptoms which can be indicators of breast cancer include:

• a lump in the breast

• a change in the size or shape of the breast

• dimpling of the skin or thickening in the breast tissue

• a nipple that’s turned in (inverted)

• a rash (like eczema) on the nipple

• discharge from the nipple

• swelling or a lump in the armpit.

Kate continues; “If you have any of these symptoms, get them checked by your GP. Although in many instances they will not be cancer, it’s important to get checked out as early as possible, because early diagnosis and treatment can save lives.”

If you have any worries or questions about breast cancer, visit www.macmillan.org.uk or call Macmillan free on 0808 808 00 00.