This Photo Of A Boob Could Save Lives

Most women know the big signs of breast cancer: swelling, discharge, and, of course, lumps under the skin. For one woman, however, the indications were much less visible, which is why Lisa Royle posted a photo of her breast on Facebook. When Royle was diagnosed with breast cancer, the only abnormalities on the surface were tiny dimples on the side of her breast — even in the selfie she posted online, they're difficult to spot at first. The subtlety of her symptoms led her to take to Facebook to share her story with other women, in the hopes that it would help someone else catch their breast cancer early."I never thought I'd post a boob picture on Facebook but I thought I would before it gets chopped off next week," she wrote online in the week before her mastectomy. "This is all I found on my boob. Very subtle dimples underneath that could easily be missed when we're all rushing round getting ready in a morning." The post received far more attention that Royle could have anticipated; at the time this article was written, the photo had more than 40,000 likes and almost 70,000 shares on Facebook. Women across the world chimed in to comment that Royle's post reminded them to check their breasts, and even more wished her well during her surgery.

Royle's husband commented on the post after her mastectomy to update everyone on her status. "Lisa is out of surgery and doing really well...and should be home later this evening," he wrote before thanking everyone for their support.

Royle achieved exactly what she set out to do: Her photo is a sobering reminder that breast cancer doesn't always announce itself in the ways we've come to expect. Performing self-examinations every month is extremely important, and it's best to get any abnormalities checked out by a doctor, even if you think it isn't a big deal. For guidelines on how to do breast self-exams, or to read up on symptoms, check out the National Breast Cancer Foundation's website.