Breast Self Examination 1!
Breast Self Examination 1!
Breast Self Examination 1!
Outlines
- Objectives - Introduction - Definition - Statistics on Breast Cancer - Why Do a Breast Self Exam? - Steps
Objectives
To clarify the confusion surrounding breast awareness and breast self-
examination.
To critique the evidence for breast
Introduction
The Numbers Dont Lie
Breast cancer impacts over 240,000 new patients a year in the United States alone.
Approximately every 3 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately every 12 minutes breast cancer claims another life. 70% of breast cancer cases occur in women who have no identifiable risk factors.
Definition
A breast self exam is a check-up a woman does at home to look for changes or problems in the breast tissue. Many women feel that doing this is important to their health. However, experts do not agree about the benefits of breast self exams in finding breast cancer or saving lives. Talk to your health care provider about whether breast self exams are right for you.
An estimated 40,600 deaths (40,200 women, 400 men) from breast cancer are expected next year. Breast cancer ranks second among cancer deaths in women.
There basic
are steps
Visual Examination
1.
2. 3.
Stand in front of a mirror and look for the above changes in your breasts (from both a frontal and profile view) in 3 different positions: With your arms up behind your head With your arms down at your sides Bending forward
or dimpling
or the
Tactile Examination
Begin by looking for the
changes while standing up. Some women find it useful to do this part of the BSE in the shower, since soap or bath
For the BSE, you need to pick a pattern to feel your breasts and surrounding areas, which include:
the breast itself between the breast and underarm the underarm itself the area above the breast up to the collarbone and across to your shoulder
It is important to check surrounding because may be lymph breast found node areas cancer in the tissue
You use the pads (where your fingerprints are) of your three middle fingers on your right hand pressed together flat to check your left breast, and do the opposite for the right breast.
light
(move
the
skin
without
medium (midway into the tissue) hard (down to the ribs "on the verge of pain")
Patterns
Spiral (concentric circles): begin with a large circle around the perimeter of your breast and make smaller and smaller circles as you work your way toward the nipple.
Pie shape wedges: pretend your breast is divided into sections like pieces of a pie, begin in the nipple area and feel your breast in a small circular motion within one pie shape section, then move on to the next wedge starting in the nipple area again.
When using any of the 3 patterns, you should always be using a circular rubbing motion (in dime-sized circles) without lifting up your fingers.
Once you've performed the tactile examination while standing up in front of a mirror, you should do the whole examination again, this time while lying down.
Summary
Put your left arm behind your head and use your right hand to examine your left breast. Put a small pillow or towel under your left shoulder to aid you. Again, use the pads of your 3 fingers of your right hand to check your left breast in the pattern of your choice (spiral, pie shape wedges, or up and down). Be sure to always use the same pattern (it's the best way to know if there are changes).