The primary aim of #KNOW YOUR MELONS is to promote the early detection of breast cancer in woman and raise awareness that, although rare, breast cancer can affect men too.

When woman know what their healthy breasts feel and look like, they are empowered in detecting any changes that may occur in the event of breast cancer and should immediately consult with their doctor. It may or may not be breast cancer, but if it is, early diagnosis gives the best chance of successful treatment.

Symptoms of breast cancer

The first symptom of breast cancer for many women is a lump in their breast. But 9 out of 10 breast lumps (90%) are benign. That means they are not cancers. But if you spot a lump, see your doctor straight away.

• Change in size, shape or feel of a breast
  Your breast might look bigger or have a different shape than usual. It might feel different. Many healthy women find that their breasts feel lumpy and tender before their period. Get to know the size, shape and feel of your breasts. See your doctor if you notice any changes or anything that is unusual for you.
• Breast pain
  Breast pain is very common and it’s not normally due to cancer. You might get pain in one or both breasts for a while, which goes after a time. There might be no obvious reason for this pain, even if you have a lot of tests. See your doctor if you have breast pain.
• Skin changes
  Skin changes include puckering, dimpling, a rash, or redness of the skin of the breast. The skin might look like orange peel or the texture might feel different. This can be caused by other breast conditions but get your doctor to check out anything that is not normal for you. Change in the position of your nipples are symptoms of breast cancer: One nipple might turn in or sink into the breast. It might look or feel different to usual.
• Fluid leaking from your nipple
  Fluid leaking from a nipple in a woman who isn't pregnant or breast feeding can be a sign of cancer. But it can also be caused by other medical conditions. See your doctor if you have leakage from a nipple and you aren't pregnant or breast feeding.
• Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms
  A rare type of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer can have different symptoms to other types. Your whole breast might look red and inflamed and feel sore. The breast might feel hard and the skin might look like orange peel. See your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

#KNOWYOURMELONS campaign encourages everyone to be breast aware, but in October (which is breast cancer awareness month), we both promote our message and fundraise for Cancer Research UK. We do this in rather a fun and unusual way using melons and Halloween. We encourage people to carve melons instead of pumpkins at Halloween, how they are carved is up to the individual; carve them as traditional jack-o-lanterns or be more creative. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and use the #KNOWYOURMELONS  as we would love to see your photos. We would love you to play our social media game with us, it's really fun and promotes our message and aim in detecting the early symptoms of breast cancer; this game really could save someone's life.

Rules of the Game

1. Give your breasts a really good checking over (probably best in bath or shower), don't just wash them, be aware of what they look and feel like as you wash them KNOW THEM and do this regularly as part of your daily regime. Educate yourself on the symptoms of breast cancer, knowledge is power!

2. Text KNOW50£5 to 70070. This money goes directly to Cancer Research UK in the fight against breast cancer. You can choose how much you would like to donate to £1 or £3 or even £10, it's up to you. All we ask is give what you can afford to give. 

3. You carve a melon (just like you would a pumpkin) and put a photo of it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram using the #KNOWYOURMELONS.

4. You nominate your friends to do the same using the caption 'I know my melons, do you know yours........?' and tag the name of the persons you are nominating. Once nominated, you just follow the aforementioned game rules.

Melons are different in size, shape and colour which represents differences in the size, shape and colour of our breasts as breast cancer can affect all nationalities. They are cheep to buy and contain a healthy fruit which can be eaten straight from the melon, it's just really easy and fun and children will love carving melons as an alternative to pumpkins. So, get to #KNOW YOUR MELONS today and everyday. In October we want to see all your lovely melons so get checking, carving, donating and nominating and together we will beat breast cancer, because...#THEMELONSFIGHTBACK #KNOWYOURMELONS #REVENGEOFTHEMELONS #ATTACKOFTHEMELONS #CANCERWEARECOMINGTOGETYOU #CANCERRESEARCHUK

Thank you for visiting our online fundraising page in support of breast cancer research. Please dig deep – it’s quick, easy and totally secure.

Cancer Research UK is funded entirely by amazing supporters like you. By sponsoring us, you can help more people survive breast cancer. Every pound you donate really does make a difference to Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work into preventing, diagnosing and treating breast cancer – so please Gift Aid it! If you are a UK taxpayer, please remember to tick the Gift Aid box when donating as this will increase your donation by at least 25% at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support,

Bridie and the #KNOW YOUR MELONS team