Let’s Talk About Boobs…Again
To read part one, click here.
Boobs Are Great
If you know me, then you’ll likely know that I talk about boobs a lot. I’ve struggled with body confidence throughout my life and always had such a negative view of most of my body. However, I’ve pretty much always loved my boobs🧡
Whether you have big boobs, small boobs, perky boobs saggy boobs – whatever your boobs are like they’re great! And I’m yet to find anyone that disagrees😂
This month (October) is Breast Cancer Awareness month, so I thought that this was the perfect time to talk about boobs again! No matter your gender – you should ALWAYS check your boobs!!
A number of the people close to me have been impacted by breast cancer, so it’s something that’s very close to my heart! You could say that it’s even more important to talk about it this year as “for months, the coronavirus put many areas of breast cancer on pause. Now more than ever, we need people, communities and businesses across the UK to help us press play on breast cancer research and care (source). So many important checks and appointments had to be postponed due to the pandemic and this has had a negative impact on a number of people.
I read a really interesting article that was talking about how we’re a world full of boobs and boob lovers; yet we don’t actually know that much about them and there is so much conflicting advice. I could quote so many parts of the article, but I will just link the whole thing here so you can have a read yourself.
As much as I love my boobs and aren’t ashamed to show them off – at the end of the day they’re basically just some bags of fat and their main purpose (in women) is to produce milk…now that doesn’t sound so sexy does it?😂
Check Your Boobs
The main focus of this blog post is to share the importance of getting to know and understand your body better, checking your boobs and learning how to check your boobs.
Did you know that “1 in 7 women will be effected by breast cancer in their lifetime”? and “around 400 men are diagnosed every year”? (source) With more education and funding we could change this, reduce those effected and increase survival rates.
There is so much advice out there about how to check and look after yourself and your boobs and I wanted to share some of that here.
My biggest piece of advice is to check out CoppaFeel’s website or Instagram. I have followed CoppaFeel for years and they are an incredible charity who is the “first charity in the UK to focus on creating awareness and knowledge for young people” and was created in 2009 by twin sisters Kris and Maren Hallenga – after Kris was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer at the age of 23” (source). They are the source of the majority of my boob knowledge and I can’t wait to see what else they do.
One thing that I now do because of following CoppaFeel is checking my boobs regularly. You could set yourself an alarm for the same day every month as a reminder - this will make it easier for you to notice any changes as boobs can feel different naturally due to hormones.
How Do I Check?
Although you might find it scary, checking your boobs is super easy to do – and if you’re a bit shy about it, I’m sure your partner wouldn’t mind helping you out😉
Lumps & Bumps
This is probably one of the most talked about signs to look out for. Don’t panic if you do feel a lump as it could just be a part of your boobs – which is why regular checks and getting to know your body is so important. But if you do find something that you’re not sure about definitely go and speak to a doctor.
Size & Shape
One thing I hadn’t really thought about was the size and shape of my boobs. I started growing boobs when I was quite young, and they just never seemed to stop😂 Obviously that was okay as I was just growing up and going through puberty. However, once that has all settled down, you need to look out for sudden changes in their shape and size that don’t relate to anything (changing weight etc).
Nipples
As much as I love my boobs, growing up I was kinda wary about what my nipples looked like. I grew up with quite a few ‘lad-lad’ type of boys and they always had something to say about girls’ bodies and quite often nipples. But I soon realised that I didn’t actually care about their opinion and everyone’s nipples, like their boobs, are different.
The general signs you need to keep an eye out for in regard to nipples is a rash, discharge and if it changes visually.
Pain
This is potentially an obvious one – generally when something hurts it means that something is wrong. However, from experience I can say that sometimes boobs just hurt because they can😂 Also, if you have periods, then the likelihood is that you will also experience sore boobs.
The below illustration from youareawesome.co (source) shows the signs to look out for and I really like how it’s been done.
Boobs are still a bit of a taboo subject and some people think that they need to be hidden away because they’re sexual and others couldn’t care less. A friend of mine once told me a story about someone she knew who was convinced that boobs were a part of the digestive system. But whatever your opinion is – just please look after them!
This post is a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be😂 But if you have any questions or anything that you think that I should add to this post, feel free to leave a comment down below or message me on Instagram🧡
I hope that you’re all doing well – and don’t forget to check your boobs!!
Cerys x
