Breast cancer, in some form, has affected 99% of the people living in the U.S. Whether it’s a family member, a friend, or co-worker it’s almost impossible to not have been touched by this life threatening common form of cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), women should start giving themselves breast exams (BSEs) as early as their 20s. Getting to know how they feel early on can heighten your sense about them helping you hone in on changes that may be happening creating a situation where the cancer could be found early on and reduce chances of spreading.

There are two easy ways to give yourself a breast exam and should be done at least twice a year. It’s quick simple and could save your life.

The Stand Up Breast Exam

1. Look at your breasts in the mirror, shoulders straight and your arms on your hips. Look for changes in your breasts: dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin; a nipple that looks different (possibly inverted); redness, soreness, rash, or swelling; fluid draining from the nipples.
2. Raise your arms and look for the same changes.
3. Feel for lumps in the right breast by making overlapping, coin-sized circular motions with the pads of your three middle fingers on your left hand.
4. Use three different pressure levels, one at a time: light pressure to feel the tissue closest to the skin; medium pressure to feel a little deeper; and firm pressure to feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs.

The Lying Down Breast Exam

1. Choose a day of the month when your breasts are not tender or swollen.
2. Lie down (so your breast tissue spreads evenly over your chest wall and is as thin as possible). Place your right arm behind your head.
3. Feel for lumps in the right breast by making overlapping, coin-sized circular motions with the pads of your three middle fingers on your left hand.
4. Use three different pressure levels, one at a time: light pressure to feel the tissue closest to the skin; medium pressure to feel a little deeper; and firm pressure to feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs.
5. Cover the entire breast by moving in an up-and-down pattern that starts at your side from the underarm and across the breast to the middle of the chest and bone.
6. Use the finger pads on your right hand to repeat these steps on your left breast.
7. Then stand in front of a mirror with your hands pressing down firmly on your hips and observe whether there are any changes in size, shape, contour, or dimpling, redness or scaliness of the nipple or breast skin.
8. Raise each arm slightly to examine each underarm for lumps.

It’s also necessary to get a professional mammogram (A safe, low-dose x-ray exam of the breasts to look for changes that are not normal. The results are recorded on x-ray film or directly into a computer for a doctor called a radiologist to examine) if your over 40 once two twice a year.

Self Breast Exam Video

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