Monthly breast self-exams can help to identify lumps that need to be evaluated by a health care provider, notes the American Cancer Society. Although most breast lumps are benign, or nonmalignant, the only way to be certain is to have a breast biopsy. Women should look for changes since their previous self-exams as well as new lumps that do not go away after a menstrual period. Lumps will feel distinctly different from breast tissue, which is somewhat lumpy on the upper inner aspect of the breast, but otherwise soft.
Step 1
Lie down on your back and place your right arm behind your head. Lying down allows the breast tissue to spread evenly over the chest, making it easier to feel a lump, according to the American Cancer Society. The American Academy of Family Physicians suggests placing a pillow under your right shoulder before performing the exam.
Step 2
Examine your right breast using the middle three fingers of your left hand. Beginning in the underarm area, move the pads of your fingers in a circular motion, using three levels of pressure: light, medium and deep to feel all layers of the breast tissue, according to the American Cancer Society.
Step 3
Examine the entire breast using overlapping circular motions to cover the area between the armpit and the breastbone. The American Cancer Society recommends moving in vertical lines, down from the armpit to the point where you can only feel ribs, then moving your hand slightly toward the breastbone and moving upward to the collarbone, and so on.
Step 4
Squeeze your right nipple slightly, looking for fluid coming from the nipple.
Step 5
Place the pillow under your left shoulder and your left hand under your head. Use the middle three fingers of your right hand to examine your left breast, top to bottom and across to the breastbone.
Step 6
Squeeze your left nipple slightly, looking for fluid coming from the nipple.
Step 7
Stand in front of a mirror, pressing down on your hips to contract your chest wall muscles.
Step 8
Observe the size, shape and contour of your breasts for any changes. Look for dimpling of the skin, redness, scaliness or discharge from the nipples.
Step 9
Raise your left arm slightly and examine your underarm area with your right hand, feeling for lumps or thickening. If you raise your arm too high, it will be harder for you to feel any abnormalities.
Step 10
Raise your right arm slightly and examine your underarm area with your left hand.
Step 11
Contact your health care provider if you find a new lump or a change since your last breast self-exam.
Tips and Warnings
- In 2009, the American Cancer Society published instructions for breast-self exams that differed from previous recommendations. Based on an extensive review of the medical literature, ACS determined that women can most easily detect changes in the breast by performing the exam lying down, using three different levels of pressure, moving in vertical lines across the breast, and across from the armpit to the breastbone. Many women have benign lumps from fibrocystic disease that may change with menstrual periods. When you become familiar with the way your breast normally feels, you will be able to distinguish between these lumps and newer ones, if any.
- Contact your health care provider if you find a new lump; your skin is dimpled or wrinkled; your breast appears bruised even though you have not been injured; you see bloody or pinkish discharge from one or both nipples; or a nipple that is normally not inverted turns inward, according to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH.
Things You'll Need
- Pillow
- Mirror
