Facebook/Hayley Browning
A woman has bravely opened up about being diagnosed with breast cancer in the hopes that her story could help others.
Hayley Browning was diagnosed with the life-threatening disease three weeks after after she found a lump in her breast.
However Ms Browning says she could only feel the lump when lying down, and if she had followed common advice to check your breasts in the shower, she might not have found it until it was much larger.
“I could only feel the lump while lying down and it completely disappeared standing up,” she wrote in a Facebook post, which has since gone viral.
“Most websites tell you to check for lumps in the shower but if I had followed this advice, the lump may have grown too large to be treatable. Not even the surgeon could feel my lump when I was standing up.”
“I’m hoping to share a little trick of mine with as many people as possible, which could potentially help save someone’s life. So, this is a call out to all women to check for lumps lying down, as well as standing up,” she continued.
“As I think about my long journey ahead and the chemotherapy I will undertake, I want to reach as many people with this message and help find more #LaidBackLumps.”
Cancer Australia recommends familiarising yourself with your breasts and looking out for any changes including:
- a new lump or lumpiness, especially if it’s only in one breast
- a changein the size or shape of your breast
- a changeto the nipple, such as crusting, ulcer, redness or inversion
- a nipple dischargethat occurs without squeezing
- a changein the skin of your breast such as redness or dimpling
- an unusual painthat doesn’t go away.
It is important to undergo regular self-examinations in conjunction with regular check ups with your GP and mammograms once over the age of 50.
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