How to Perform a Breast Self-Exam

For women, performing monthly breast exams at home is an essential part of keeping healthy and detecting any problems early, especially breast cancer. With early detection, most abnormalities can be handled effectively. If you don't know how to perform a self-guided breast exam, read on, and share this information with all the women in your life.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. The best time to perform the exam is a few days after your period has ended. As your cycle nears ovulation and your period, breast tissue fluctuates with your hormones and can produce false results. The best time is when your estrogen level is most decreased, in the first three days after your period.

2. Begin by either sitting up with one arm over your head, or lying down with one arm over your head. The side with the arm up is the side that will be checked. With your opposite hand, use the pads of your index and middle finger to press lightly against the skin on the top of your breast under the collar bone and around the outside. Move your fingers in a spiral pattern around the entire breast, ending on top of the nipple.

3. As you press down, feel for any lumps, thick places, or jagged areas in the breast tissue. Some areas of a woman's breast tissue may naturally vary in texture, so a good rule of thumb is to check the exact same area on the opposite breast - if it feels similar than it is likely normal, however if it isn't there, alert your health care professional and schedule a more indepth exam.

4. When one breast is complete, raise the opposite arm over your head and check the other breast. Be sure to check the area between the breasts and under both arms as well. When performing a breast exam, the area considered part of the breast extends to your arm pit, above your arm pit, and below your arm pit. Check all places.

5. Make performing this exam a monthly habit - it is important to check each month to familiarize yourself with your body so you can find abnormalities easier. Be sure to talk to your friends, daughters, and sisters about performing breast exams each month and get yearly check-ups that include mammograms and other exams.

Tips & Warnings

• You may want to perform the exam in the shower to make it easier to move your hands against the skin.
• If you feel anything out of the ordinary, contact your health care provider immediately. Better to be safe!

Resources

• Want to help more? Register for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

[Sounique]

on 12/20/2008 Every woman should do this. It's so important! Thanks for sharing.