5 Tips for Breast Self Examination In Ways Anyone Would Understand

Breast cancer is such a common disease. In fact, it is the most common cancer found in women all across the world. The World Health Organization has provided 508,000 as the number of women who died from breast cancer in the year 2011 alone.

In 2020, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685 000 deaths globally.

The good news is that while cancer doesn’t really have a guaranteed cure, there’s also a high number in survival rate especially for those who spot the symptoms at an early stage. This is precisely why it is important for all women to know about Breast Self Examination or BSE.

One struggle that you might face though is knowing the right information. Truth be told, random information found on the Internet can cause unnecessary panic. For instance, if one is looking for information about a simple headache, some symptoms listed down can easily be misunderstood. What was thought to be a serious condition turns out to be nothing more than just a person feeling under the weather. Or suffering from a mild breast infection.

5 Tips for Breast Self Examination

Most of the time, lack of understanding occurs when one gets a whole lot of inconsistent information from different sources, as well as information that are just too technical or medical and can be difficult to understand.

Here are some tips you can keep in mind if you wish to learn more about breast self-examination.

1. Perform a Breast Self Examination at least once a month.

The only for you to find out what’s normal from not is by creating a habit out of doing a regular breast self-examination. Once a month should be about enough but if you can do it more often it’s better. This allows you to be more familiar with your own breasts; how they look and feel on a normal day.

Not all breasts look alike. You can’t simply assume that something might be going on just because your breasts don’t look like other people’s breasts. Furthermore, some breasts have natural imperfections such as difference in size of the left breast from the right breast. Some women naturally have inverted nipples. These things can be normal, so it’s best for you to do a thorough check on your breasts regularly so you know whether there are any significant changes.

2. Set a specific day for Breast Self Examination so you will never forget.

It isn’t recommended for you to do a breast self-examination during your period because that’s a time when breasts normally get swollen and/or tender. Your findings may not be as accurate on days when you don’t have your period.

Since period dates vary and can change over time, it is best to do it a few days after your period. For instance, you can choose to do a BSE 7 days after your period ends. If you no longer get your monthly periods, then you can easily just choose any day of the month.

3. Keep a record or journal of your personal findings.

People forget things all the time. Among all the things you do, it would be highly likely for you to not remember every single detail of your Breast Self Examination findings especially if you have started to do it on a regular basis.

Get a notebook or simply use the notepad on your smartphone or computer and record your findings each time you do BSE. The information you gather can be very helpful should you decide to consult a doctor in the future.

4. Do not panic. Consult your doctor if there’s anything suspicious.

If there’s anything suspicious at all like a lump on your breasts or rashes that appeared out of nowhere, do not panic. Just so you know, only 20% of the women in the United States who discovered suspicion lump/s on their breasts through BSE turned out to have breast cancer after a biopsy procedure.

Before anything else, just go to your doctor, so proper tests can be performed. Don’t delay your visit though so you would also have your much deserved peace of mind.

5. Learn how to do Breast Self Examination from legitimate sources.

Your doctor is the best and most legitimate source if you want to learn how to do Breast Self Examination. With extensive experience and most likely countless cases they’ve handled through the years, you can get the information you need, the dos and don’ts, and the answers to your what ifs.

If you don’t have time to visit a doctor or if by any chance you have little to no budget for that, the Internet is rich with free information. But then again, be reminded of the disclaimer written above — there’s so much random information that can cause unnecessary panic.

One legit online source you can check out is BreastCancer.org – they detailed all the necessary steps to perform a proper BSE.