A variety of examinations and screening techniques are used to check for breast cancer. At times, a combination of methods is used to look for the disease. Patients who discover their cancer at an early stage have the best chance of survival. Ideally, breast cancer is discovered before symptoms are present. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), "the earlier breast cancer is found, the better the chances that treatment will work." Checking for breast cancer involves both noticing changes in your breasts and getting the tests that are recommended for you.
Step 1
Perform a breast self-exam. Get to know how your breasts normally look and feel so that you can notice changes in your breasts soon after they occur. Promptly report any changes to your doctor.
Step 2
Schedule an appointment for a clinical breast exam. During a clinical breast exam, a physician or health expert checks for breast cancer by examining your breasts for lumps or anything else that seems unusual. The ACS recommends that women in their 20s and 30s have a clinical breast exam at least once every three years. It recommends that women over 40 have a clinical breast exam every year. If a lump is found, your doctor may order a diagnostic mammogram to check for breast cancer. Sometimes a sonogram will be ordered. While sonograms are not used to screen for breast cancer, they can help the physician further examine suspicious areas within the breast.
Step 3
Discuss breast cancer screening methods with your doctor, and develop a screening plan based on your risk factors. Imaging methods such as mammograms and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans are used to check for breast cancer. The ACS recommends that women over the age of 40 have a screening mammogram once a year. Women who have higher than average risk factors may need to begin having mammograms at a younger age. In conjunction with mammograms, MRIs are recommended for some women.
Step 4
Follow up with your doctor after you complete your breast cancer screenings. If any areas of the breast appear suspicious, additional imaging tests may be needed.
Step 5
Ask your doctor if you need to have a biopsy performed in order to check for breast cancer. While exams or imaging techniques can indicate the possibility that breast cancer is present, a biopsy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. A biopsy is a procedure that removes tissue samples from the breast. The samples are then examined for cancer under a microscope.
Tips and Warnings
- Researchers continue to work on developing tests that will detect breast cancer earlier than the tests that are currently used.
