How to Check Your Breasts Out: What to Look For Exactly

Most of us know that breast cancer is a concern for people with breasts and that we should be performing self-breast exams. There are lots of breast cancer awareness campaigns encouraging us to check our breasts and get regular screenings done. But why are self-breast exams so important?

A self breast exam takes only a few minutes to do, and it could save your life. Read on to learn more about why it’s so important to check your breasts out and how to do a self breast exam.

Prevalence of Breast Cancer

In 2019, more than 3,000 people in Australia died from breast cancer. In 2015, it was the second-most commonly diagnosed form of cancer overall and the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer among female patients. It is estimated that it will become the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer overall this year.

But female patients are not the only ones at risk of developing breast cancer. 164 of the 19,535 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in 2019 were in male patients. So whether or not you have breasts, it’s important that you check your breast tissue on a regular basis.

Survival Rates

Luckily, if breast cancer is caught early enough, you have a very good chance of surviving. From 2011 to 2015, the chance that a patient diagnosed with breast cancer would survive at least five years was more than 90 percent. And the rates are improving; this survival rate is up from 74 percent between 1985 and 1989.

But the key to surviving breast cancer is detecting it early. If you detect breast cancer in the early stages before it has a chance to metastasize, your chance of surviving jumps up to 99 percent. This is why performing regular self breast exams is so crucial.

Why a Self Breast Exam Matters

It may seem strange to think that checking your breasts every month or so could save your life. But there is a real connection between self breast exams and early detection of cancer. Cancer changes your breasts, and the better you know your breasts and the more often you check them, the earlier you can detect small changes and go see your doctor.

More than half of female breast cancer survivors surveyed in one study reported that they found out about their cancer through a screening method other than a mammogram. Twenty-five percent of those patients found their breast cancer during a self breast exam. An additional 18 percentdiscovered the disease on accident, and it’s likely that an increased knowledge of their usual breast feel contributed to their ability to identify the change.

How Often To Check Your Breasts Out

Most organizations recommend performing a self breast exam about once a month. If you get a period, it may be a good idea to start a habit of doing your self breast exam the week after your period is over. Not only does this help you remember to do it every month, it can also help you get more consistent results.

Your breasts may change slightly in feel throughout the course of your menstrual cycle. Many experts recommend you do your self breast exam during the same time each month to avoid worrying about normal changes that happen with your cycle. But you may not want to do your exam during your period; your breasts can often get tender and sore during your period.

Start by Looking

When you get ready to do your breast exam, find someplace quiet and warm and strip down from the waist up. Start by standing with your hands on your hips and your shoulders straight, and just look at your breasts, areolas, and nipples. You want to both take note of the normal shape, size, and colour of your breasts and look for any changes.

Look for any distortions, swellings, or discolourations on your breasts that aren’t there normally. You should also keep an eye out for and dimpling, puckering, or bulging on your skin; any redness or rashes; and changes in your nipples. If you’ve noticed any of these things on previous self breast exams and have already talked to your doctor about them, just focus on new changes to your breasts.

Put Your Arms Up

Once you’ve given your breasts a thorough once-over, lift your arms over your head and look again. Raising your arms like this can stretch your breast tissue differently. This can bring some issues that were hidden with your arms down to light.

With your arms over your head, look for the same changes and issues as you did before. You should also pay special attention to any discharge coming from your nipples. If you’re breastfeeding, it’s normal to see some breastmilk, but any bloody, watery, or yellowish fluid may be a concern.

Lie Down

After you’ve done your visual examination, find someplace comfortable to lie down on your back, pillowing your head with one arm. With the other hand, examine your opposite breast – so with your left arm behind your head, use your right hand to examine your left breast. Tuck your pinky and thumb into your palm, put three fingers up, and use the pads of those fingers to gently but firmly feel your breast.

Start at your nipple and move out to the outer edges of your breast in a straight line. Use small circular motions, and be sure to cover every area of your breast from your armpit to your collarbone to your cleavage. Make sure you use enough pressure to get all the way down to your ribcage without digging in and causing yourself pain.

Stand Up

The last step of your self breast exam is to stand back up and perform the same palpation exam again. Your breast tissue will sit differently when you’re standing up than when you’re lying down, which can uncover some other potential problem areas. You may also want to do this while you’re in the shower so your skin is smooth and easy to manipulate.

Put one hand over your head and use your opposite hand to examine that breast. Use the same small circular motions, and follow the same pattern as you did before. When you finish with one breast, swap arms and repeat the exam on the other side.

What to Look For

When you’re doing these exams, there are a few warning signs you’ll want to keep an eye out for. All breasts have small lumps and uneven tissue, but these areas of unevenness should feel roughly the same through each exam. You want to pay attention to small, round, hard lumps that feel like there’s a pea or a marble lodged in your breasts.

Areas that are especially tender or sore may also be an area of concern. But the biggest thing you want to look for is changes. If there’s a new lump or a lump that seems to have grown, that could be a sign of dangerous changing tissue.

What to Do If You Find Something

If you find a lump during a self breast exam, don’t panic. Many lumps are found to be benign, and there are a lot of reasons that your breasts may change, especially with age. Having regular checkups with your gynecologist can help you monitor these changes and know what’s of concern.

If you find a change or a lump, call your doctor and make an appointment. More than likely, it’s nothing to be concerned about, but it’s much better to be overcautious about these changes. Your doctor will never be upset about you being overcautious about these changes.

What Your Doctor Will Do

When you go in for an exam, your doctor will start by performing a similar exam to the one you did at home. They are trained to recognize lumps that are concerning, so they may be able to tell you just with this exam whether or not you have anything to worry about. Depending on what they find and your age, they may also perform a mammogram to check for any areas of concern.

If your doctor does find a lump, they’ll perform an ultrasound to get some more information. Depending on what they find there, they may order an MRI and/or a biopsy. If you have any questions throughout this process, be sure to ask your doctor so you don’t worry unnecessarily.

Get Your Breasts Out for Life

Doing self breast exams can help you catch breast cancer early and increase your chance of survival by a ton. Aim to do a self exam every month, and do not hesitate to contact your doctor if you’re worried. So get your breasts out, get to know them, and start protecting your health today.

If you’d like to take further steps to protect your health, check out the rest of our site at Mediband. We provide medical ID products so you can have peace of mind that first responders will know about any conditions you have in case of an emergency. Check out our custom ID options and start protecting your health today.