Terrie McEvoy has reminded her followers to check their breasts after she found a lump last year.
The podcaster and creator took to Instagram to share her story of discovering a lump in her breast, which she had a biopsy on this week.
Terrie, who is pregnant with her second child, said that she expects her boobs to be sore, and that even though she found the test “uncomfortable,” she knew it was important to get checked.
“I’m not that worried about mine, I have had loads of fibroadenoma’s in the past, I think I have had three, like benign little cysts, and I’m fairly confident that that’s what this is, but it is always good to go get it checked,” she told her followers.
Terrie said that she had been working on some admin when she decided she wanted to urge her followers to get checked, and be aware of changes in their body.
She also shared some information on changes to look out when checking your breasts, including lumps, swelling, and dimpling.
“If you haven’t checked your breasts in a while, take this as a sign to do that, make sure that you’re doing it regularly,” she said, “make sure you know whats normal, abnormal, if you’re in doubt go get it checked out.”
According to the Irish Cancer Society, when checking your breasts, you should be aware of the following changes:
- A lump, any size, or thickening in your breast or armpit
- A change in size or shape – it may be that one breast has become larger
- A change in the skin of your breast – like puckering or dimpling
- A breast abscess (infected boil) – this may appear as a red, tender area on your breast
- A change in your nipple, like pulled-in, sunken, or flattened nipple
- An unusual discharge (liquid) from one or both of your nipples – the discharge may be blood-stained or watery
- A change on or around the nipple, such as a rash, or flaky or crusted skin
- Swelling in your armpit or around your collarbone
Breast cancer affects 3,600 women in Ireland every year.
You can find out more about breast cancer, and how to check your breasts, here.