According to statistics, American women have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer sometime in her life. Every three minutes, a woman living in the U.S. is diagnosed with breast cancer, and every 11 minutes one dies from it. Examine your breasts on a monthly basis. If detected early, breast cancer can be treated to stop it from spreading, and is often cured.
The symptoms of breast cancer are usually easy to detect. Lumps, nipple discharge, and changes in the shape of the breast are easily spotted.
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How to Perform a Breast Self-Exam
The best time for a self-exam is two or three days after your period, if you menstruate. If you no longer menstruate, pick the same date every month. To perform a breast examination:
• Look at your breasts. Look for changes in size, shape, or texture. If there is any puckered or dimpled skin, changes in the nipple such as scaling skin, clear or bloody discharge from the nipple, inverting of the nipple, or noticeable change in the contour, call the doctor immediately.
• If everything appears normal, feel for lumps or thickening of the breast tissue. This might be easier in the shower when your breasts are all soaped up, so that it is easier to glide over the skin.
• Put one hand behind your head, and use the fingers of the other hand to press firmly and examine the opposite breast (left hand, right breast and vice-versa).
• Use small circular motions to search for lumps or abnormalities.
• Squeeze each nipple to check for discharge—there shouldn't be any.
• Examine the entire breast tissue and back toward the underarm area.
• Repeat the procedure with the other hand and the opposite breast.
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What If You Find a Lump in the Breast?
If you find a lump or any change in your breast, consult a doctor immediately. Only a doctor can determine if a lump is if a lump is cancerous.
Women over 45 or who have a history of breast cancer in their families should get a mammogram each year. A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast that can show any lumps, which can then be biopsied to find out if they are cancerous.
Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery are all methods of treating breast cancer. A lumpectomy is the surgical removal of the lump and some surrounding cells, and a mastectomy is the surgical removal of one or both breasts. Because of advances in cancer treatment, women today have a good chance of a full recovery.
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