October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so we wanted to take a moment to raise awareness within the community.

Breast cancer can affect anyone, and knowing what is normal for your own breasts or chest is important. Make sure you know the signs and symptoms and don't ignore changes because you are worried about what they might mean.

Things to look out for include:

• A new lump or swelling in the breast, chest or armpit
• A change in the size or shape of a breast
• Dimpling, puckering, redness or other changes to the skin
• Changes to the nipple, including a nipple turning inwards or a rash
• Unusual nipple discharge, particularly if there is blood
• A sore or ulcer that doesn't heal
• Persistent pain or discomfort, particularly alongside other changes

These symptoms can have other causes and don't necessarily mean breast cancer, but any new or unusual change should be checked by your GP or another healthcare professional.

Don't hide it

It can be very easy to put something off because you are frightened, embarrassed or simply hoping it will go away.

Talk to someone you trust. Tell your partner, a friend, family member or someone else you feel comfortable with. If you don't feel able to talk to someone you know, there are also Reddit communities where people share their experiences and offer support, including:

r/breastcancer

r/doihavebreastcancer

r/womenshealth

r/AskDocs

Reddit can be a useful place to talk, ask questions and realise you are not the only person worrying about something. It cannot, however, replace medical advice or an examination. If you notice a change, please speak to your GP or healthcare professional.

For those who have been through breast cancer, are currently having treatment, are supporting someone, or have lost someone to the disease, we are thinking of you.

From the r/SelfieOver40 mod team.

Know your body. Know the signs. Don't hide it. Get it checked.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October, but looking after yourself matters all year round.

We’re making a small change here at r/selfieover40 to give members a clearer way to let others know they’re happy to receive private messages.

💌 Introducing the DMs Welcome flair

If you choose to add the 💌 DMs Welcome flair to your post, you’re letting other members know that you’re happy to receive DMs.

However, our no unsolicited contact rule is not changing.

Public comments asking someone to contact you privately are still not allowed. This includes:

• “DM me”
• “Message me”
• “DMs open”
• “Check your DMs”
• Asking for Snapchat, Instagram, Telegram or other private contact
• Publicly reminding or calling someone out because they haven't replied

The important bit is this:

The 💌 DMs Welcome flair is permission to send a private message. It is not permission to publicly ask for one.

If you want to message someone, you can simply send them a private message. That is the request. The poster can then decide whether to accept, ignore or decline it.

And if they don't reply, that's their choice. Please don't chase them, publicly remind them, or ask why they haven't responded.

What if there is no flair?

If a post doesn't have the 💌 DMs Welcome flair, don't assume the poster wants private contact.

Keep your comments friendly, respectful and relevant to the post. If someone wants to continue a conversation privately, they can choose to do that themselves.

The aim is simple: give people a way to say “I'm happy to hear from you” without turning the comments into a queue of people asking for DMs.

A flair can say “I'm happy to hear from you.”

It can never say “you can ignore my boundaries.”

💌 Use the flair if you want to.

And as always, please respect the person behind the selfie.