Breast Self Examination

Outlines Outlines

- Objectives

- Introduction

- Definition

- Statistics on Breast Cancer

- Why Do a Breast Self Exam?

- Steps

ObjectivesObjectives

To clarify the confusion surrounding

breast awareness and breast self-

examination.

To critique the evidence for breast

awareness as a health promotion tool.

Introduction Introduction

•Breast cancer impacts over 240,000 new patients a year in the United States alone.

•Approximately every 3 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately every 12 minutes breast cancer claims another life.

• 70% of breast cancer cases occur in women who have no identifiable risk factors.  

 

The Numbers Don’t LieThe Numbers Don’t Lie

Definition A breast self exam is a check-up a woman does at

home to look for changes or problems in the breast tissue. Many women feel that doing this is important to their health.

However, experts do not agree about the benefits of breast self exams in finding breast cancer or saving lives. Talk to your health care provider about whether breast self exams are right for you.

• An estimated 40,600 deaths (40,200 women, 400 men) from breast cancer are expected next year.

• Breast cancer ranks second among cancer deaths in women.

• Breast cancer also strikes a small percentage of men.

• An estimated 192,200 new invasive cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States this year alone.

• About 1,500 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men next year.

Statistics on Breast CancerStatistics on Breast Cancer

When to do a Breast Self-ExamWhen to do a Breast Self-Exam

The best time to do breast self-exam is

right after your period, when breasts are

not tender or swollen. If you do not have

regular periods or sometimes skip a

month, do it on the same day every

month.

Why Do a Breast Self Exam?

There are two basic

steps to conducting

a Breast Self Exam

(BSE): first you look

at your breasts, and

then you touch them.

During the first part of the BSE,

the visual examination, you are

looking for changes in each breast.

So if your breasts have always

been mushy, that's not a concern

unless this is a new change.

Visual ExaminationVisual Examination

Stand in front of a mirror and look for the above changes in your breasts (from both a frontal and profile view) in 3 different positions:

1. With your arms up behind your head

2. With your arms down at your sides

3. Bending forward

The changes you are looking for include:• Size• Shape • Bumps/lumps NOTE: normal lumpiness, like in the

week before and of your menstrual cycle, will appear as very small and separate lumps like the texture of an orange.

• Contour or symmetry (is there a difference in the level between your nipples? Do both breasts look symmetrical?)

Other Changes to Look For…

Sores or scaly skin

Skin discoloration

or dimpling

Discharge or

puckering of the

nipple

Tactile ExaminationTactile Examination

Begin by looking for the

changes while standing up.

Some women find it useful to

do this part of the BSE in the

shower, since soap or bath

gel will aid in the ease of

feeling your breasts.

For the BSE, you need to pick a pattern to feel your breasts and surrounding areas, which include: the breast itself between the breast and underarm the underarm itself the area above the breast up to the

collarbone and across to your shoulder

It is important to check

surrounding areas

because breast cancer

may be found in the

lymph node tissue

around your breast and

underarm.

You use the pads (where your fingerprints are) of your three middle fingers on your right hand pressed together flat to check your left breast, and do the opposite for the right breast.

You should press on your breast

with varying degrees of pressure:

light (move the skin without

moving the tissue underneath)

medium (midway into the tissue)

hard (down to the ribs "on the

verge of pain")

Patterns Spiral (concentric circles): begin with a

large circle around the perimeter of your breast and make smaller and smaller circles as you work your way toward the nipple.

Pie shape wedges: pretend your breast is divided into sections like pieces of a pie, begin in the nipple area and feel your breast in a small circular motion within one pie shape section, then move on to the next wedge starting in the nipple area again.

When using any of the 3 patterns, you should always be using a circular rubbing motion (in dime-sized circles) without lifting up your fingers.

Once you've performed the tactile examination while standing up in front of a mirror, you should do the whole examination again, this time while lying down.

Summary Put your left arm behind your head and use your right

hand to examine your left breast. Put a small pillow or towel under your left shoulder to

aid you. Again, use the pads of your 3 fingers of your right hand

to check your left breast in the pattern of your choice (spiral, pie shape wedges, or up and down).

Be sure to always use the same pattern (it's the best way to know if there are changes).