Breast exams. How to do it? And men, you should get involved!

October is breast cancer awareness month.  As we discussed, 1 in 8 women gets breast cancer in their lifetime.  In the Bay Area, breast cancer is the most frequently occuring cancer in females.  There are two ways to find cancers: one is by mammogram (looking for a cluster of calcifications), and the other is by self exam. 

Self exam does not need to be “self.”  I know my title seems a little racy, but I can’t tell you the number of patients whose significant other was the one to find the cancer.  So yes, men out there reading this, it is your duty at least once a month to help your woman and a do a thorough exam of her breasts. 

How do you examine the breast?

1. Stand in front of a mirror and just look at them.  Do you see any dimples? puckers? irregularities?

2. Pinch the nipple.  Is there any discharge? What color? (milky, bloody, clear)

3. Next examine the breast.  Don’t forget the breast tissue tail which goes up into the armpit.

4. Feel your breast.  Use the flat part of your fingers.  You can work out in concentric circles.  You are looking for any new bumps.  In the armpit you may also feel bumps.  These can be lymph nodes, which if enlarged need an evaluation.  Cancers do not come and go.  If you have a bump in the same place, particularly if it is getting larger over time, you need an evaluation.

5. Ideally you should examine your breasts once a month.

Not all bumps are cancers.  But anything you feel, which is persistent after a month, needs an evaluation.

So, what are you waiting for? Go examine your girls!