Health Conditions A-Z Cancer Breast Cancer What I Wish I Knew About Nipple Changes in Breast Cancer By Colleen Murphy Colleen Murphy Colleen Murphy is a senior editor at Health. She has extensive experience with interviewing healthcare providers, deciphering medical research, and writing and editing health articles in an easy-to-understand way so that readers can make informed decisions about their health. health's editorial guidelines Updated on December 8, 2022 Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Nick Blackmer is a librarian, fact-checker, and researcher with more than 20 years of experience in consumer-facing health and wellness content. health's fact checking process Share Tweet Pin Email Cynthia Malaran has been in remission from breast cancer for seven years. She faced her treatment, which included chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, with strength and positivity. But looking back on her experience, she wishes she would’ve known to compare her nipples. Knowing that might have meant getting her diagnosis earlier. Changes in nipples, such as the development of red or flaky skin, pain, or discharge, can be a sign of breast cancer. Only after she was diagnosed with breast cancer did Malaran notice that one nipple was denser and harder than the other soft, normal nipple. She hadn’t noticed the difference because she never knew to compare her nipples. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit Sources Health.com uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What are the symptoms of breast cancer?