Breast Self-Exam Tips

Breast Self-Exam Savvy If it's been a while since you started checking your breasts for lumps, it may be time for a refresher. The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its instructions for monthly breast self-exams to reflect new scientific data. Among the changes: - Lie down to perform the exam. When you're lying on your back, the breast tissue spreads evenly over the chest wall and becomes as thin as possible. This makes it easier to feel all of the breast. - Move across the breast in an up-and-down pattern. There's evidence that this is the most effective technique for covering the entire breast. (In the past, women were offered a choice of several patterns.) - Use different levels of pressure: light, to examine breast tissue closest to your skin; medium, to feel a little deeper; and firm, to reach the tissue closest to your ribs. A firm ridge in the lower curve of each breast is normal. The ACS no longer recommends squeezing the nipple, since stimulation can release small amounts of fluid from healthy breasts. (Spontaneous discharge is more worrisome.) - Sit or stand and slightly raise your arm to probe the underarm area. "Go deep into the armpit," says Christine Pellegrino, M.D., director of the Breast Clinic at the Montefiore-Einstein Cancer Center in New York City. - However you check your breasts, do it at the same time every month, to increase your chances of finding any lump that shouldn't be there. Source:  Remedy