A positive practice to help ensure good breast health.
Breast self examination (BSE) is a practice that women should consistently perform to search for any abnormalities in the breasts. Typically, this routine should begin when a woman reaches her 20s and should be used to find any changes in the breast. A woman may practice these self exams by comparing her breasts against how they normally look and feel, or she may take a more systematic, step-by-step approach and use a specific schedule to examine her breasts.
For a systematic approach to BSE, follow these directions. The best time to perform the exam is when the breasts are not tender or swollen. In addition, it may be helpful to review these steps with your physician to ensure that you have a complete understanding of the exam process and that it is performed correctly.
- Comfortably lie on your back with your right arm behind your head. While lying down, your breast tissue will spread evenly over the chest wall, making it very thin, and making it easier to closely examine your breasts.
- Using the three middle fingers of your left hand, use overlapping, small circular motions to examine your breasts for any lumps or abnormalities.
- Use three levels of pressure when feeling your breasts: Light pressure for tissue closest to the skin; medium pressure for a deeper examination; and firm pressure to examine the breast tissue closest to your chest.
- Use up-and-down patterns to carefully examine all areas of your breasts, from your collar bone to your ribs.
- After you have carefully examined your right breast, next use the three middle fingers of your right hand to examine the left breast.
- After examining your left breast, stand in front of a mirror with your hands pressing firmly on your hips to visually check for any abnormalities in the appearance of your breasts.
- Finally, examine each underarm for lumps or abnormalities while in a standing or seated position while raising your arm straight above your head.
Note that finding a lump does not necessarily mean you have cancer, in fact, more often than not, lumps are found to be benign (non-cancerous). However, you should consult your physician immediately for closer examination.