How to Check Yourself for Breast Cancer

Doing a self-examination for breast cancer can be daunting and awkward.  For many women it can also seem ineffective due to uncertainty of method or what they should be looking for. But by making self-examinations a routine activity in your life you can quickly overcome those worries and help monitor your health at the same time. Here is a quick guide to how to effectively perform a self breast examination.

Step 1) Observe

While there is much discussion over feeling for lumps, simple observation is a key towards knowing your body.  The presence of a lump is not the only indicator of breast cancer, making observation very important.

Stand in front of a mirror with your arms at your hips. Take a good look at the size, shape and color of your breasts. You want to check that the size is consistent with previous self-examinations.  Also look to see if your breasts are evenly shaped and show no signs of swelling. Visible signs of puckering, bulging or dimpling of any part of your skin in your chest area (including your armpits) are worthy of a call to your doctor.  Other notable breast exam findings are inverted nipples, rashes or redness.

Repeat this step with your arms up.

Step 2) Feel

You will do this step in two parts. One part you need to do lying down and the other is standing up.  The method is the same for both.

Use the hand on the opposite side of the breast you are examining. Using a small circular motion with the pads of your middle three fingers make your way across the entire breast.  The order and direction doesn’t matter, but you will want to stick to a pattern so you ensure that you don’t miss a spot. Make sure you cover the area from the top of your abdomen all the way to your collarbone.  Be sure to include your armpit and side of your body as well.  You may wish to turn over to your side when examining this part of your breast. After you finish with one breast, switch hands and move on to the other side.

TIP #1: Use three different pressure points.  You have multiple layers of tissue which require multiple uses of pressure when you examine your breasts. The lighter pressure will feel the top layers of tissue while the more firm pressure will reach the deepest tissues.

TIP #2: When standing up many women find it easier to do the examination when their body is wet.  Doing this step in the shower makes it easier and is a great use of your time!

TIP #3: Know what a lump would feel like.  There are already many natural “lumps” within the breast tissue.  Milk glands, lymph nodes and the tissue itself feel like squishy lumps that you can move around. A tumor (benign or cancerous) would be hard and immovable.

Performing a self-exam should be a regular occurrence in your health regime. It is important to know the anatomy of your own breasts. Knowing what they look like and feel like will give you sufficient guidelines to compare future examinations too. Finding something new can’t happen if you don’t know what is normal for your body! Breast cancer is a highly treatable disease when discovered early. Knowing your body to the point that you can notice even small changes can give you that vital jump on protecting your future.

This is a guest post from Breana Orland. She is a writer for Student Grants. Breana also gives advice on the pursuit of higher education and career options for young adults. If you wish to submit your guest post in Cytogenetics Cancer Research blog, please follow this guideline.