Self-breast Exam for Your Health
Self-breast exams are one of the tools in your arsenal against breast cancer. If done once a month, a woman can become familiar with the topography of her breasts and in consequence, she can tell when she has problems such as milky discharge or unusual lumps. It is recommended that she should examine her breasts a week after her menstrual cycle starts.
How-to Examine your Breasts:
Stand in front of your mirror and look for the following:
- distortion or swelling of the breasts
- bulging, dimpling, or puckering of the skin
- inverted nipples
- redness, soreness, or rashes
- Raise your arms and look for the same changes.
- Squeeze your nipples and look for discharge (milky, yellow, or blood)
- Feel your breasts as you lie down. (press on sections of the breast)
- Also do this routine sitting or standing.
Clinical Breast Exams and Mammography:
Although women can become familiar with their breasts, they should have a clinical breast exam about every three years. The doctor usually has the experience in examining and finding problem breast tissue. But even though breast exams are touted as a good way to find breast cancer tumors, it is does not always find the tumor.
In my case, my tumor was found by mammography. The tumor was hidden deep in the breast tissue and could not be found by touch. In this case I was fortunate. I had a lumpectomy of the tumor. Thankfully it was not cancerous so I did not have to go through more treatment.
So even in families who do not have breast cancer problems, it is important to have a mammography at the age of 40, earlier if there are breast cancer problems in the family.
Other Breast Cancer Problems:
In this essay, I have talked about how women need to keep an eye on their breasts for tumors or other problems. But, men also can have tumors in the tissue around their nipples. Men should realize that cancer can strike anyone. If they have any problems similar to women's breast cancer issues, they should see their doctor immediately.
Women, self-breast exams are important for your health. If you do them regularly with a combination of clinical breast exams and mammographies, you can stop the spread of cancer in its earlier phases, which will make you live longer. In the late 1970s when a friend of my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, we knew it was a death sentence. Today, you can live a normal healthy life after cancer.
