Woman's viral photo reveals symptom that led to her breast cancer diagnosis

A woman's Facebook photo reveals the symptom that led to her breast cancer diagnosis (iStock)

When Sherrie Warner was putting on a bathing suit during the first week of June, she noticed some dimpling at the side of her breast. The 37-year-old and mother of three mentioned the issue to her doctor two days later, and was referred to a local breast clinic. Last week, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The dimpling on her skin was the only symptom Warner experienced, and she only knew that it could be a cause for worry because of a breast cancer awareness photograph she'd seen previously. After her diagnosis, Warner decided to share a photo of her own breast to Facebook in order to spread awareness.

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"I decided to do the post almost straight away," Warner told MailOnline. "I was sat in the car park and thought, 'I'm going to put a picture on Facebook.' It's an intimate area and I was nervous about doing it but thought I'd do it in a delicate way and thought it would be worth it if it helped just one person. If I hadn't seen a post like this previously I wouldn't have known that this dimpling was a sign of cancer."

Warner's post has been shared over 1,300 times, educating women about the symptom and reminding them to conduct regular breast self-exams.

According to the American Cancer Society, the most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass. However, other symptoms include swelling, skin irritation, dimpling, scaly skin, breast or nipple pain, nipple retraction, and nipple discharge other than breast milk.

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Dimpling due to breast cancer can be caused by an underlying mass like a tumor underneath the skin that is pulling the skin inward. Dimpling or puckering isn't an automatic cause for panic, as it could also be caused by scarring, cellulite, or a condition called fat necrosis, according to the journal of Diagnostic Radiology. Regardless, Mayo Clinic recommends getting checked out any time you notice a change to your breasts.

This article originally appeared on Women’s Health