Early breast cancer usually does not cause pain. In fact, when breast cancer first develops, there may be no symptoms at all. Only as the cancer grows, it can cause changes that women should watch for:

• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area;
• A change in the size or shape of the breast;
• Nipple discharge or tenderness, or the nipple pulled back (inversion) into the breast;
• Ridges or pitting of the breast (the skin looks like the skin of an orange); or
• A change in the way the skin of the breast, areola, or nipple looks or feels (for example, warm, swollen, red or scaly).

What should a woman do if there are any suggestive changes or symptoms of breast cancer observed during Self-Examinations?

A doctor should be seen if changes in the breasts are noticed to have any outward symbols or lumpiness is observed. Most often, they are not cancer, but it's important to check with the doctor so that any problems can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible. To find out the cause of any of these signs or symptoms, a woman's doctor does a careful physical exam and asks about her personal and family medical history. In addition to checking general signs of health, the doctor may do one or more of the breast exams.

• Palpitation:- The doctor can tell a lot about a lump (its size, its texture, and whether it moves easily) by palpation, carefully feeling the lump and the tissue around it. Benign lumps often feel different from cancerous ones.
• Mammography :- The doctor may suggest that you have a mammogram. A mammogram is a special x-ray of the breast that may find tumors that are too small to feel. Clinical trials have established that screening with mammography, with or without, clinical breast examination can decrease breast cancer mortality. If an area on the mammogram looks suspicious or is not clear, additional mammograms may be needed.
• Ultrasonography :- Using high - frequency sound waves, ultrasonography can often show whether a lump is solid or filled with fluid. This exam may be used along with mammography.
• Biopsy :- If a lump in the breast is found, the doctor may need to cut out a small piece of the lump and look at it under the microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. This procedure is called a biopsy. Sometimes the biopsy is done by inserting a needle into the breast and drawing out some of the tissue.