I usually recommend starting the examination in front of a mirror. With your arms at your side, look for any pimples, dimples, or red areas. Red areas will usually have a purplish vascular appearance. Next, lift your hands up behind your head to watch for changes in breast or nipple shape. After the visual exam, lie down with one hand under your head. With the other hand, start right in the middle of the nipple and slowly feel the tissues, moving your way out in a spiral motion. If you think you've felt a lump, check the other breast in the same area, because often it's just your own tissue. The more often you examine yourself, the more likely you'll be able to tell a true lump from normal tissue. This is especially important during breastfeeding, because the milk glands feel lumpy. Something that needs to be checked by a doctor would be a lump that feels more like gravel or a hard circle.
Breast self-examination tips
Women should perform a breast self-examination every month even while breastfeeding to screen for breast cancer, and they should report any unusual lumps to their doctor or an oncologist.
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Breast self-examinations should be done at the same time every month, because the breast changes with hormone changes. Doing it during pregnancy and breastfeeding is also important. Oncologists say that the childbearing years are especially important, because women are busy and tend to neglect doing exams. The whole point of the examination is to catch cancer as early as possible.
I usually recommend starting the examination in front of a mirror. With your arms at your side, look for any pimples, dimples, or red areas. Red areas will usually have a purplish vascular appearance. Next, lift your hands up behind your head to watch for changes in breast or nipple shape. After the visual exam, lie down with one hand under your head. With the other hand, start right in the middle of the nipple and slowly feel the tissues, moving your way out in a spiral motion. If you think you've felt a lump, check the other breast in the same area, because often it's just your own tissue. The more often you examine yourself, the more likely you'll be able to tell a true lump from normal tissue. This is especially important during breastfeeding, because the milk glands feel lumpy. Something that needs to be checked by a doctor would be a lump that feels more like gravel or a hard circle.
I usually recommend starting the examination in front of a mirror. With your arms at your side, look for any pimples, dimples, or red areas. Red areas will usually have a purplish vascular appearance. Next, lift your hands up behind your head to watch for changes in breast or nipple shape. After the visual exam, lie down with one hand under your head. With the other hand, start right in the middle of the nipple and slowly feel the tissues, moving your way out in a spiral motion. If you think you've felt a lump, check the other breast in the same area, because often it's just your own tissue. The more often you examine yourself, the more likely you'll be able to tell a true lump from normal tissue. This is especially important during breastfeeding, because the milk glands feel lumpy. Something that needs to be checked by a doctor would be a lump that feels more like gravel or a hard circle.
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Breast self-examination tips
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