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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffDoing breast exams helps you learn the normal feel and appearance of your breasts. That makes it easier to notice subtle changes, should they occur.
Say, for example, you feel a noticeable area of thickening in the upper area of your breast, next to your arm. If you've become familiar with how your breasts look and feel, you know your breast usually feels completely smooth in that area. Without a tactile memory from having done frequent breast exams, though, you might not notice this difference. Detecting such a change should prompt you to see your doctor.
Finding a breast lump when it's small increases the chance for a cure, if the lump is determined to be cancer. A smaller cancer may mean you have better surgical and other treatment options, compared with a cancer that is larger.
To gain the greatest benefit from regular breast exams, ask your doctor to review your technique at your next checkup.
- 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.
