Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but it can be treated successfully if detected early. Doing a monthly self-exam is the best way to detect a new lump or any changes in the breast tissue and catch breast cancer early.
Instructions
1. Understand the importance of doing a monthly self-exam beginning at age 20. The best time for a self-exam is just after your period, when the breasts are less tender.
2. Look in a mirror with your top off. Use a wide mirror to see the entire chest area. Check the shape and size of the breasts and the color and texture of the skin with your arms at your sides.
3. Raise your arms in the air and look at your breasts. Sometimes one breast is larger than the other. Learn what each breast looks like normally so you can easily spot any changes that may happen over time.
4. Place your hands on your hips, tighten your chest muscles and bend forward at the waist. Look for any dimpling on the skin that could indicate a lump under the skin.
5. Lie flat on your back on a bed with a pillow under one shoulder and bend your arm at an angle toward your head in an L position. This position spreads the breast tissue evenly. Feel the whole breast with your fingers, from the armpit to the breastbone and the collarbone to the bra line.
6. Use three fingers and make three dime-sized circles, one lightly, one medium and one deeply over each area of breast tissue on the entire breast. Use the pads of the fingers because they're more sensitive to feel a lump than the fingertips. Leave fingers on the skin as you move them around so you don't miss any areas.
7. Cover the entire breast going up and down in strips the size of your three fingers. When you're done, lower your arm and feel the entire armpit. Repeat the entire process on the other breast and armpit to complete your monthly breast exam.
Tags: breast tissue, with your, entire breast, monthly self-exam, three fingers
