Earlier this year Claire Warner was planning to remodel her kitchen, when she made a chilling discovery. The 41-year-old mother-of-two noticed something unusual about her left breast.
There was a noticeable dimple, however she couldn’t feel a lump.
Already knowing deep down exactly what she had just discovered, Claire set up a Twitter account called My Left Boob in order to take other women along on her important journey.
The lesson: There’s more to early breast cancer detection than just finding lumps.
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This is the profile photo of the Twitter account, a close-up of Claire’s left breast with a large dimple at the bottom, a sign of breast cancer most of us forget to look out for.
“This is a picture of my left boob,” she wrote.
“The small purplish bruise is where I had a biopsy taken. The minuscule dimple up and to the left of it is a rare and little-known symptom of BREAST CANCER. Blink and you’d miss it. I hope I’m one of the lucky ones.”
The small red dot on the right is the needle mark from the biopsy Claire had which confirmed she did indeed have breast cancer, specifically "invasive ductal carcinoma" which she is now being treated for.
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Like most women Claire knew of the importance of regular breast checks, knowing to press gently across both breasts with her fingers feeling for lumps, continuing all the way to under each of her arms. What she wasn't aware of was the fact that dimpling of the breast as pictured above is another symptom of breast cancer.
When she presented to her doctor with the dimpling, he quickly found the corresponding lump, ordered tests and Claire began her treatment.
Claire went from planning to redesign her kitchen, to a biopsy, to a diagnosis, to writing a will and then surgery, chemo and radiotherapy - all in a matter of weeks.
Now Claire, who lives in the UK, is using her My Left Breast Twitter account and hash tag #CheckForTheDimple to educate women about less common signs of breast cancer.
“PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check yourself and get your loved ones to check themselves also,” she wrote.
“If I can help one other person, the way I was helped, then it’s been worth showing my soon-to-be-reduced left tit to the world.”
Less common signs of breast cancer can include:
- Dimpling of the breasts;
- Changes to your nipples such as soreness and discharge;
- Thickening of the skin of the breasts or under your armpits;
- Rashes;
- Red or swollen breasts.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in Australian according to the McGraths Foundation with one in eight women being diagnosed before the age of 85.
However survival rates have greatly improved, with a 90% chance of surviving five years after initial diagnosis.
If you have any concerns please visit the McGrath Foundation website or contact your GP.
Top Comments
My mum had what she called a 'dent' on the underside of her breast for two years before anything was done about it, and she passed away from breast cancer in October 2013. So please, if there is ANYTHING unusual about your breasts, get them checked.
I had quite an obvious lump and intermittent soreness in the same spot as Claire so the GP sent me off to get a mammogram and ultrasound. Nothing was present in both scans so the GP dismissed the lump as being 'hormonal'. I was confused and felt something wasn't right, but went on with my life tolerating the sore lump. Seven months after that initial scan I could not bear it anymore so, I demanded a referral to a specialist. He looked at my previous scan and said quite confidently that there was nothing present there but I knew something definitely wasn't right when, after the physical examination, he called up radiology dept and demanded they fit me in that afternoon for another mammogram and ultrasound. They ended up doing a biopsy then as well. My return visit with the specialist confirmed my worst fears, it was breast cancer. Also invasive ductal carcinoma with FOUR tumours in my right breast. My head was reeling. How could this be?? Why did nothing come up in first scan seven months prior?? The specialist explained that the cancer, in my case, in it's earliest form grew along the milk ducts and despite irritating the tissue around it, was disguised and therefore indistinguishable in the scans. The specialist said had he done that initial scan he would have followed it up after 3 months. As it turned out, the cancer was a particularly aggressive one and I had to have a mastectomy, chemo and radiation but I'm pleased to say it's been 2 years since my diagnosis and I am now in remission. So I guess my addition to Claire's very important story is; please follow up any continuing symptoms you are not comfortable with, within a few months. Even at the risk of looking like a hypochondriac. It may just save your life.