Breast Cancer Awareness

By Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization http://www.y-me.org 1. Use a mirror: First, stand in front of a mirror, keeping your arms relaxed at your sides. Notice the shape and size of your breasts. Compare both breasts. It is not unusual for one breast to be larger than the other. Now look at your nipples. Notice their direction and how alike they are. Next, look at your skin. Take note of the texture and color. Changes in shape and size occur with age.Look at the same things with your arms in different positions. 2. Feeling: As you do this part of the examination, remember that some lumpiness is normal for many women. Self-examination helps you become familiar with the normal texture of your breast tissue. To examine your right breast, lie on your back. Place a pillow or a folded towel under your right shoulder. Put your right arm out, with your elbow at a 90° angle. This position flattens the breast and makes it easier to examine. 3. Where: Check from behind your armpit to your sternum on each side and from the sternum down below the breast. Pay special attention to the outer edges of the breast as this is where most breast tissue is. 4. Use the Pads of Your Fingers Not the Tips: Use the pads of the three middle fingers of your left hand to examine your right breast. 5. Move the Pads of Your Fingers in Small Circles (The size of a dime): As you examine your breasts, move the pads of your fingers in little circles–about the size of a dime. Don’t lift your fingers from your breast as you move them–you might miss something that way. 6. Cover the Exam Area in Up and Down Strips: Start in your armpit and move down to just below your breast. Now move your fingers over–just the width of one finger and move up again. Continue this up-and-down pattern until you have covered the entire self-exam area; from your collarbone to just below your breast. 7. Examine all Areas of Breast Tissue: Examine all levels of breast tissue. For each small circle, change the amount of pressure so you can feel all levels of your breast tissue. Make each small circle three times–once light, once medium and once deep–before you move on to the next area. 8. Examine your armpit. Some parts of your breast extend into your armpit. Examine this area again, with your arm relaxed at your side. It will feel a little different in this position. 9. Look for nipple discharge. Some women may see a clear or milky fluid discharge from their nipple. This is probably normal. If the nipple discharge happens without squeezing, continues to happen, and is only from one nipple, or is a bloody fluid, you should be checked by your medical professional. 10. Repeat these steps on your left breast, using your right hand.