BSE: Breast Self Examination

Conducting regular breast self-exams is a good practice for women to follow.

Why do a breast self-exam?

A breast self-examination is a risk-free and painless procedure conducted with the objective of identifying breast related disorders and cancerous conditions. A number of women perform this examination themselves as a screen test for breast cancer. Breast examination primarily involves feeling the breast and region around it for unnatural lumps, distortions and swellings that might be an indication of a breast related disorder or even breast cancer.

How to conduct a breast exam

The examination involves standing in front of a mirror and feeling each breast from about an inch below the breast right up till the collarbone. There are six major steps in a breast self-exam (click on the chart attached for pictorial instructions):

1. Step 1 involves checking for abnormalities by standing straight in front of the mirror with the arms hanging by the side 2. In step 2, the woman raises her hands and puts them behind her head. 3. Place the arms on the waist and flex the breast muscles to check for changes in the breast tissue. 4. Step 4 includes feeling your breasts for lumps, rashes, dimpling, puckering or change in colour. 5. Step 5 is an examination of the nipple. Check to see if its harder or a different colour from before and also for any kind of discharge. 6. The final step involves a pat down of the breast while lying down on the back. Along with the breasts, the armpit and neck areas are also checked for swollen lymph nodes. Any abnormal thickening or lumps, redness and sores and even milky and or bloody discharges are indicators of some form of breast disorder. Breast disorders like fibroadenoma, mastitis and abscesses can be identified by this procedure.

A word of caution
The concept of testing for breast cancer by examination is based on the incorrect theory that cancer progress noticeably on a daily basis. The fact is that cancer is tricky and can suddenly show up one day. So, contrary to the once popular belief this procedure is not the best way to identify cancer at a more curable stage. It is advisable to undergo a clinical breast examination at the hands of a medical professional who can advise further diagnostic procedures should there be any cause for concern. Also, a breast self-exam is not a substitute for a mammogram. While a breast exam may help diagnose many breast disorders, its no longer considered a fool proof way of diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage. However, a breast examination is a simple, painless procedure thats helped create awareness about female heath. This preventive health care practice has helped many women diagnose and treat various conditions at an early stage.