Though Breast Cancer Awareness Month has come to an end, breast cancer is an ongoing battle that thousands of women fight every day—it’s the most common cancer around the world. According to BreastCancer.org, a nonprofit organization providing education and resources for those afflicted by the disease, about 13 percent of women (1 in 8) in the U.S. are going to develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. Self breast exams are something we can easily do at home to check in with our breasts each month and become aware of any possible changes.
“Self breast exams have received vary reviews in the medical literature questioning their value,” says New York OBGYN Carolyn Delucia, MD. “I however, have seen many women who identified their own breast mass by doing their monthly self exam. The exam is recommended once a month, seven to 10 days after the first day of bleeding with menses. I feel women should use all the tools we have at our ‘fingertips’ in order to detect breast cancer as early as possible: mammogram, self breast exam and physician exam. I always say, ‘Early detection is our only protection.'”
According to BreastCancer.org, “breast self-examination can be a useful and important screening tool, especially when combined with regular physical exams by a doctor, mammography, ultrasound and/or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or both.” These are the five steps the organization outlines.
