The breast
examination is an integral part of the well woman exam. The provider will
ask you to raise one arm over your head. Taking her/his hand and pressing
in a gentle motion around your breast tissue and under your arm, the
provider will check your breast for lumps. The provider will squeeze the
nipples checking for any nipple discharge and check under your arms for
swollen lymph nodes. The provider will then examine the other breast in the
same manner.
Breast
self-exam is recommended monthly, the week after your menstrual period...
The technique is as follows:
Examine your
breasts in the mirror, first with your arms at your sides (A1) and then
with both arms over your head (A2). The breasts should look the same.
Watch for any change in shape or size, or for dimpling of the skin.
Occasionally a lump that is difficult to feel will be quite obvious just
by looking.
Next, while
lying flat, examine the left breast using the inner fingertips of the
right hand and pressing the breast tissue against the chest wall. Don’t
pinch the tissue between the fingers; all breast tissue feels a bit lumpy
when you do this. The left hand should be behind your head while you
examine the inner half of the left breast (B1) and down at your side when
you examine the outer half (B2). Don’t neglect the part of the breast
underneath the nipple or that which extends outward from the breast toward
the underarm (B3). A small pillow under the left shoulder may help.
Repeat this
process on the opposite side.
Any lump
detected should be brought to the attention of your practitioner. Regular
self- examination will tell you how long it has been present and whether it
has changed in size. 80% of breast lumps are not cancerous and breast
cancers are curable if caught early. Most women will have a lump in a
breast at some time during their life. Some women’s breasts are naturally
lumpy (so-called benign fibrocystic changes).
Breast
self-exam is a supplement to other screening tests for breast cancer, not
an alternative. Mammography can detect smaller lumps, particularly in women
with large or lumpy breasts. Hence, we strongly recommend mammography
yearly after age 50 and after age 40 for women with a strong family history
of breast cancer.