Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 24 hours, you’ll have noticed your Facebook timeline blowing up with your female friends posting ‘Make-Up Free Selfies’.
The ‘Make-Up Free Selfie’ trend actually began in 2013 when a beauty retailer offered to donate money to a breast cancer charity for every selfie posted by women at that time … Brilliant.
Now, However, If we really want to bring awareness to Breast Cancer, we should be A) checking ourselves and B) DONATING.
So, We are here to help this a little.
Let’s look at the 5 steps for checking your breasts as well as some handy links for donating.
1) First of all, Whip that bra off and stand in front of a mirror.
Straighten your back and place your hands on your hips. How do they look? Your breasts should usually be even in shape. Things you should watch out for are dimpling, discoloration, random swelling, nipple movements,redness, soreness or puckering of the skin. get to know your breast for what is normal for you and what is not. If something doesn’t look right, make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible.
2) Raise your arms above your head and look out for similar changes. Is there any liquid coming from either/both your nipples? Again, if this is happening, make an appointment with your doctor.
3) Lying down, you are now going to use your hand to check for any lumps or bumps. Use your right hand to check your left breast, Closing your finger tips together press down firmly but smoothly in small circular motions starting from around your nipple, then moving from top to bottom and side to side, making sure you’ve covered every area of the breast. Swap over and check your right breast with your left hand.
4) This can also be done in the shower or why not let your partner help you – Fun for him but getting an important job done at the same time too!!
5) Last but not least, Don’t panic!! Early detection is KEY. If you do feel anything that is unusual for you, it could be anything from swollen glands, to a cyst. Make sure you do regular checks so that you know your breasts inside out, literally. Knowing your body better helps detect any changes early on.
While we do applaud all the brave ladies going sans-make-up online, its also more important they they are donating too, otherwise there is no point to it.
Here are some Breast Cancer charities worthy of your time and money, I’ve provided direct links to donation pages. Simples!
The Irish Cancer Society – http://www.cancer.ie/get-involved/fundraise/how-to-donate
The Marie Keating Foundation – http://www.mariekeating.ie/donate-now.asp#page
If any of you have any other links feel free to post below for your fellow readers.
(imagesources:teen.com,healthcentral,entertainmentwise)
(info source: breastcancer.org)
How do you know people aren’t donating though??! The UK figures for donations today alone are huge, I’m sure the Irish figures will be somewhat similar. Do we need to prove our charitable donations now and put photos of that up too??!