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By Mayo Clinic staff
Begin with a visual examination of your breasts
Sit or stand shirtless and braless in front of a mirror with your arms at your sides. To inspect your breasts visually, do the following:
- Face forward and look for puckering, dimpling or changes in size, shape or symmetry.
- Check to see if your nipples are turned in (inverted).
- Inspect your breasts with your hands pressed down on your hips.
- Inspect your breasts with your arms raised overhead and the palms of your hands pressed together.
- Lift your breasts to see if ridges along the bottom are symmetrical.
If you have a vision impairment that makes it difficult for you to visually inspect your breasts, ask a close friend or a family member to help you.
Next, use your hands to examine your breasts
Common ways to perform the manual part of the breast exam include:
- Lying down. Choose a bed or other flat surface to lie on. When lying down, breast tissue spreads out, making it thinner and easier to feel.
- In the shower. Lather your fingers and breasts with soap to help your fingers glide more smoothly over your skin.
When examining your breasts, some general tips to keep in mind include:
- Use the pads of your fingers. Use the pads, not the very tips, of your three middle fingers for the exam. If you have difficulty feeling with your finger pads, use another part of your hand that is more sensitive, such as your palm or the backs of your fingers.
- Apply enough pressure. Use enough pressure so that you can feel through the tissue but not so much that you cause discomfort or press into your ribs. The goal is to feel different depths of the breast.
- Take your time. Don't rush. It may take several minutes to carefully examine your breasts.
Use a methodical technique to ensure you examine your entire breast:
- Visualize your breast as a circle divided into wedges, like pieces of a pie or the numbers on a clock.
- Place your left hand behind your head and examine your left breast with your right hand.
- Place your right hand at the very top of your breast near the collarbone.
- Press the pads of your three middle fingers firmly on your breast and slide down toward the nipple. If it causes discomfort, lighten the pressure slightly.
- Examine the breast tissue in the entire wedge, moving your fingers from the outside of the breast toward the nipple.
- Move your fingers clockwise to the next wedge in the circle.
- Continue examining your breast in this manner until you've completely examined your breast and underarm.
- Place your right hand behind your head and repeat the examination on your right breast using your left hand.
- Examine your upper chest area, above your breasts.
- Examine your armpits while sitting or standing with your arm partially raised above your head.
- Examine your nipples and look for discharge. Do this by gently lifting the region (areola) around the nipple with your fingers positioned at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock and again with your fingers at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock.
If you have a disability that makes it difficult to examine your breasts using this technique — for instance, you have use of only one hand or you have trouble steadying your hands — you likely can still conduct a breast self-exam. Ask your doctor to show you ways you can examine your breasts.
- How to perform a breast self-exam. American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_How_to_perform_a_breast_self_exam_5.asp. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- Breast awareness and breast self-exam. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/breast-self-exam.cfm. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for breast cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2009;151:716.
- Breast self-examination. Breast Health Access for Women with Disabilities. http://www.bhawd.org/sitefiles/bse/bse_broc.html. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- Breast cancer screening: Q&A. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/BreastScreenQandA. Accessed Nov. 19, 2009.
- Pruthi S (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 19, 2009.
