Ultimate DIY guide to checking your breasts for cancer trends now

Checking your breasts for lumps could save your life. 

But, despite years of pleas from cancer charities, more than a third of women in the UK still do not regularly assess theirs.

Thousands of women say they simply don't know how. Others forget.  

So, with that in mind, here MailOnline shares a DIY guide to help you spot any changes to your breasts.

Around 55,000 women and 370 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK, says Breast Cancer Now. 

Meanwhile, roughly 300,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are diagnosed in women every year in the US.

Ex-Dragons' Den star Kelly Hoppen, 63, today revealed her breast cancer diagnosis for the first time. In a first-person piece for the Daily Mail, she wrote that she 'can't believe my own stupidity' for skipping her mammogram every year for eight years. 

Meanwhile, Linda Nolan, 64, who was first diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005, today also revealed that her disease has spread to her brain.

How and what should you check?

Checking your breasts could help find signs of breast cancer early. This means you have a better chance of beating the disease, experts say.

It should be part of your monthly routine so you notice any unusual changes, charity CoppaFeel says.

But according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Breast Cancer Now, 39 per cent  of women don't bother.

More than half who do not check their breasts simply forget to, while 16 per cent do not know how to check. 

Dr Sarah Kayat, who, with the help of a topless cancer survivor, showed viewers on ITV's This Morning how to perform a breast exam, said at-home breast exams save 1,300 lives in the UK each year.

You can check in the shower, when you are lying down in bed or in the mirror before you get dressed.  

Because breast tissue isn't just found in your boobs, it's also important that men and women check the tissue all the way up to their collarbone and underneath their armpit. 

There is no right or wrong way to check your breasts, as long as you know how your breasts usually look and feel, says the NHS.

But one of the most popular methods online involves using the pads of your fingers.  

Simply, rub and feel from top to bottom, feel in semi-circles and in a circular motion around your breast tissue to feel for any abnormalities, according to a guide shared in a blog post by the University of Nottingham. 

If you spot any changes you should get it checked out by your GP.  

Women aged between 50 and 70 should also be attending routine breast cancer screening. 

Check for... 

A lump or swelling

Using your fingers feel for lumps or swellings in the breast, upper armpit and chest.

A lump or an area of thickened breast tissue that doesn't move easily is one of the first noticeable symptoms of breast cancer, says the NHS.

And according to the American Cancer Society, it's the most common symptom. It says the lumps are often hard and painless.

But when feeling for unusual lumps and bumps it is important to know what is normal for you, experts say.

The NHS advises women get used to how their breasts feel at different times of the month. This is because some women have tender and lumpy breasts, near the armpit, around the time of their period.

The feel of your breasts can also change after the menopause as normal breasts can feel softer less firm and not as lumpy.

As well as checking for lumps, visible changes to the shape and size of the breast is also important.

Changes to the skin

Another common sign of breast cancer is a change the skin.

This can usually just be seen in the mirror and includes puckering or dimpling of the skin.

The dimpling skin is often compared to orange peel and can be associated with inflammatory breast cancer, which is a rare but aggressive form of cancer. 

A change in

read more from dailymail.....