BreastCancer Awareness Month: How To Carry Out A Self Examination
October is National chest Cancer Awareness month and the message of self-examination and chest cancer screening. Here are five easy steps in a chest self-examination.
Step 1: Begin by looking at your br**sts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips.
Here’s what you should look for:
br**sts that are their usual size, shape, and color
br**sts that are evenly shaped without visible distortion or swelling
If you see any of the following changes, bring them to your doctor’s attention:
Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin
A bosom that has changed position or an inverted bosom (pushed inward instead of sticking out)
Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling
Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes.
Step 3: While you’re at the mirror, look for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both bosoms (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid or blood).
Step 4: Next, feel your br**sts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left chest and then your left hand to feel your right chest. Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping the fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter.
Cover the entire chest from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.
Follow a pattern to be sure that you cover the whole chest. You can begin at the bosom, moving in larger and larger circles until you reach the outer edge of the chest. You can also move your fingers up and down vertically, in rows, as if you were mowing a lawn. This up-and-down approach seems to work best for most women. Be sure to feel all the tissue from the front to the back of your br**sts: for the skin and tissue just beneath, use light pressure; use medium pressure for tissue in the middle of your br**sts; use firm pressure for the deep tissue in the back. When you’ve reached the deep tissue, you should be able to feel down to your ribcage.
Step 5: Finally, feel your br**sts while you are standing or sitting. Many women find that the easiest way to feel their br**sts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your entire chest, using the same hand movements described in step 4
Step 1: Begin by looking at your br**sts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips.
Here’s what you should look for:
br**sts that are their usual size, shape, and color
br**sts that are evenly shaped without visible distortion or swelling
If you see any of the following changes, bring them to your doctor’s attention:
Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin
A bosom that has changed position or an inverted bosom (pushed inward instead of sticking out)
Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling
Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes.
Step 3: While you’re at the mirror, look for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both bosoms (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid or blood).
Step 4: Next, feel your br**sts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left chest and then your left hand to feel your right chest. Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping the fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter.
Cover the entire chest from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.
Follow a pattern to be sure that you cover the whole chest. You can begin at the bosom, moving in larger and larger circles until you reach the outer edge of the chest. You can also move your fingers up and down vertically, in rows, as if you were mowing a lawn. This up-and-down approach seems to work best for most women. Be sure to feel all the tissue from the front to the back of your br**sts: for the skin and tissue just beneath, use light pressure; use medium pressure for tissue in the middle of your br**sts; use firm pressure for the deep tissue in the back. When you’ve reached the deep tissue, you should be able to feel down to your ribcage.
Step 5: Finally, feel your br**sts while you are standing or sitting. Many women find that the easiest way to feel their br**sts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your entire chest, using the same hand movements described in step 4
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