It is important to know how your breasts normally feel and look in order to recognize when an abnormality arises. Early recognition when a difference occurs gives treatment a better success rate. Doing self-breast exams however does not replace the need for keeping up with regular screening exams and following the doctor’s advice on medical testing needed based on your pertinent family and/or medical history.
The most common symptom of great cancer is a new lump/mass. Usually if it is painless, hard, and irregular arrow and the edges it is most likely cancerous. Although if it is tender, soft, or rounded it still has the possibility of being cancerous. So, it is important to bring any type of lump to the doctor’s attention so that they can give you a clinical opinion of the mass.
Other symptoms of breast cancer include: swelling, skin irritation, skin dimpling, breast/nipple pain, nipple retraction, redness, scaliness, thickening, and nipple discharge.
If breast cancer has spread to lymph nodes under the arm or around the collar bone there might be swollen/palpable lymph nodes present.
When any of these symptoms are present it is important to bring them to the attention of your doctor. They do not mean that you have cancer but there might be another explanation that the doctor may be able to fix.
Self Breast Exams
A self breast exam should be done once a month by adult women of all ages. It should be done in the shower, in front of a mirror and while lying down to ensure coverage of all areas of the breast.
The following is a video taken from the National Breast Cancer Foundation that discusses how to do a self-breast exam:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-self-exam
Clinical Breast Exam
Adult women should attend annual medical exam either by their family physician or gynecologist and this is where their clinical breast exam can occur. This exam in addition to monthly self-breast exams allows the earliest detection of breast cancer.
The following is a video taken from the National Breast Cancer Foundation site that discusses what occurs during a clinical breast exam:
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/clinical-breast-exam
If an abnormality is found during the clinical exam then the doctor may order more tests to be performed and decide where to go from there.
The above information and pictures were formed in conjunction with information available on the National Breast Cancer Foundation site. (nationalbreastcancer.org)