Self-examining tips on breast cancer

Breast cancer is an ailment that’s plaguing women and needs to be tackled proactively- through Breast self-exam (BSE).Breast self-exam (BSE), or regularly examining your breasts on your own is an important way to detect breast cancer early, determine the time to be treated successfully. While not every cancer can be found this way, it BSE is a critical step for every woman over 40, should take for themselves in order to help towards early detection of a possible malignancy.

Step 1: To start, begin by looking at your breasts in the mirror, with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips.

Look for these tell-tale :

• Dimpling, puckering or bulging of the skin
• A nipple that has changed position or an inverted nipple
• Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling

 

Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for identical changes.

Step 3: Keep an eye for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both nipples. This could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid or blood.

 

Step 4: Proceed to feel your breasts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left breast and then your left hand to feel your right breast.  A firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, should be enough. Cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage. Follow a pattern to be sure that you 

cover the whole breast. You can begin at the nipple, moving in larger and larger circles until you reach the outer edge of the breast. This up-and-down approach seems to work best for most women. Be sure to feel all the tissue from the front to the back of your breasts: for the skin and tissue just beneath, use light pressure; use medium pressure for tissue in the middle of your breasts; use firm pressure for the deep tissue in the back. When you've reached the deep tissue, you should be able to feel down to your ribcage.

Step 5: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sitting. Many women find that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your entire breast, using the same hand movements described in step 4.

Report any changes in the breast, skin or nipple, including nipple discharge, to your doctor. It is also important to report persistent pain in one area of the breast, as this can, rarely, be a sign of breast cancer.  Breast cancer is curable if detected earlier, so a little bit of caution doesn’t hurt much. Remember, we are warriors and even something like the breast cancer shouldn’t put us down.

See You Soon....