How to look after your breast health
Life can be chaotic. Sometimes we’re so busy looking after others that we forget to take time to look after ourselves. But it’s important to prioritise your breast health. In this article I’ll explore what you can do to help keep your breasts healthy. And I’ll explain how to check your breasts for changes and get to know what’s normal for you.
Keeping your breasts healthy
There are lots of ways you can help to keep your breasts healthy. You can:
- maintain a healthy weight
- be physically active
- keep the amount of alcohol you drink low
- stop smoking if you smoke
- eat a healthy, varied diet
If choose to, and are able to breastfeed, research has found it can also reduce your risk of breast cancer. The longer you breastfeed for, the more it may help to reduce your risk of breast cancer.
Checking your breasts regularly is also an important step to looking after your breast health.
Despite this, the charity Breast Cancer Now recently found that around 10 per cent of women have never checked their breasts. Their research also identified that 44 per cent of women in the UK don’t regularly check their breasts for signs of cancer.
How to check your breasts
Performing regular self-examinations can help you get to know what’s normal for you. This can help you detect any changes sooner.
If you have a period, you might want to wait until it’s over before doing a breast check. This is because sometimes hormonal changes that happen during your period can cause temporary lumps in your breasts.
Some people find it easier to check their breasts in the shower, or while lying down. Find what works best for you and follow the steps below.
- 1. Before you begin checking your breasts with your hands, look at them in a mirror.
- 2. Stand in front of the mirror with your arms by your side. You’re looking for anything unusual such as lumps, or changes to the shape or size.
- 3. Next, look at your breasts with your arms above your head, and then with your hands on your hips, looking again for anything that isn’t normal for you.
- 4. After this, press your fingers flatly over your breasts and chest, including up to your collarbone and into both armpits. Use both firm and light pressure as you check all of these areas.
Dr Zoe Williams shows how to check your breasts in the video below.
When it comes to being breast aware, the most important thing to do is get to know your normal because this means you're well-equipped to identify if anything changes and then you can get it checked out straight away.
And if you're wondering how to check, here's a little something I made earlier. Here's a quick demo of one way you can self-check.
So, starting off by looking with your top off. Looking from the front. Different hand positions, hands behind your head, and also pushing onto your hips. And then do the same from one side, and the same from the other side.
Next, you're going to feel. So start with one breast. Use the pads of the fingers and use whatever technique works for you, this is the spiral technique.
So as long as you feel every single area of the breast, it doesn’t matter how you do it.
Some people use the lawnmower technique. Some people imagine the breast is in four quarters and feel one quarter at a time.
To complete the examination, you’re going to also feel the front of the chest wall all the way up to the collarbone. It doesn't matter which hand you use, whichever’s easiest, and then also feel all of the areas in the armpit. Once you’ve done one side, do the same on the other side, and then you're done.
So there you go. A self-check is quick, it’s easy, and you really can't do it wrong. The most important thing is just do it.
If you're a mum, do it in front of your daughters. Talk to your gran about it, your aunties, your sisters, your friends.
And remember that men should be checking too.
This is the best defence we have against breast cancer. So let's get everybody checking.
You can set yourself a monthly reminder to check your breasts in your calendar. Or sign up for a monthly text reminder alert from charities like Breast Cancer UK or CoppaFeel! by visiting their websites.
Signs of an unhealthy breast
Finding something unusual in your breast doesn’t always mean that there’s a problem. But if you do find something worrying then it’s best to make an appointment with your doctor.
Contact your GP if you notice:
- changes to your breast skin (dimpling, puckering, or orange peel appearance)
- lumps or bumps
- a rash, redness, or thickening of the skin
- crusting on or around your nipple
- pain that doesn’t go away
- any swelling or lumps around your chest or armpit
- changes to the size or shape of your breast
- discharge coming from your nipple
- your nipple turning in a different direction or becoming pulled inwards (inverted)
Breast density
You may have heard or read things about breast density and the risk of breast cancer. And if so, you might be wondering what breast density is.
Breasts are made up of fat and glandular tissue that makes breast milk if needed. They also contain connective or fibrous tissue that helps hold all the different parts of your breast together.
If you have dense breasts, it means you have more glandular and fibrous tissue than fat. It’s normal and many women have dense breasts. Dense breasts don’t look or feel any differently so you might not know if you have them.
It’s estimated that around half of women under the age of 40 have dense breasts. Breast density tends to reduce as we get older. And it’s also more common if you’re taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Having dense breasts increases your risk of developing breast cancer. It’s also more difficult to see cancer on a mammogram if you have dense breasts. This is because the dense tissue can hide the tumour on a scan.
Research is currently ongoing to find more effective ways of screening women with dense breasts. These studies are looking at the effectiveness of using different imaging techniques like contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) and types of MRI for breast screening.
Breast density is just one of many factors that can increase your risk of breast cancer. So, if you’re told you have dense breasts, there are still lifestyle changes you can make to help lower your risk.
Foods for breast health
There’s some evidence that the foods we eat may impact our risk of breast cancer.
Try to limit red and processed meat in your diet like bacon and sausages. And, avoiding ultra processed foods may also help to reduce your risk of cancer.
Some research has found that certain foods can help reduce inflammation, which may reduce the risk of breast cancer. These include non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli and onions, and foods high in a substance called carotenoid, such as tomatoes and carrots. However, supplements containing carotenoid don’t appear to be as effective as eating foods with them in.
If you’re concerned about your breast health or have noticed any changes to your breasts, contact your GP.
Concerned about a lump or changes in your breast? You can book an urgent GP appointment with us for an assessment, and help with referring you to a specialist for further tests if needed.
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Sources Sources
- Reducing your risk of breast cancer. Cancer Research UK. Cancerresearchuk.org. Last reviewed 30 June 2023.
- Breast cancer and smoking: what is the link? Cancer Research UK. Cancerresearchuk.org. Published 9 July 2024.
- Touch Look Check. Breast Cancer Now. Breastcancernow.org. Last accessed 6 November 2025.
- New research: Over 2 in 5 (44%) UK women do not check their breasts regularly for the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Now. Breastcancernow.org. Published 1 October 2024.
- Breast cancer facts and statistics. Breast Cancer Now. Breastcancernow.org. Last accessed 6 November 2025.
- How to check your chest. CoppaFeel! Coppafeel.org. Last updated April 2024.
- Check your breasts or chest. Breast Cancer UK. Breastcanceruk.org. Last accessed 6 November 2025.
- Breast lumps and benign (not cancer) breast conditions. Breast Cancer Now. Breastcancernow.org. Last reviewed October 2024.
- Signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Now. Breastcancernow.org. Last reviewed October 2024.
- The breasts. Macmillan cancer support. Macmillan.org.uk. Last reviewed 1 October 2023.
- Why breast density matters. Prevent breast cancer. Preventbreastcancer.org. Published 10 September 2025.
- Detecting cancer in women with dense breast tissue. Barts charity. Bartscharity.org.uk. Published 19 October 2022.
- Diet and breast cancer risk. Breast cancer UK. Breastcanceruk.org.uk. Last accessed 6 November 2025.
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