Breast Self-Examination

There are two elements to breast self-examination: looking and feeling (palpation). You will need a warm place where you can have some privacy and be free from interruptions. Just before going to bed is a good time, or when you are about to have a bath or shower.

Looking at the Breasts

1. Undress to the waist and stand or sit in front of a mirror. Look at each breast carefully for changes in appearance, size, or the color of the nipples, a difference in level between the nipples, patches of eczema, or dimpling of the skin. Don't forget to look at the upper part of the breast that leads into the armpit.

2. Raise both your arms above your head. Turn to one side so you can see your breasts in profile . Do the same for the other side.

3. Place your hands firmly on your hips and press in hard. You should feel your chest muscles tense. Repeat your observations.

4. Now lean forward. Look again for dimpling or puckering of the skin, a change in outline of the breasts, or retraction of the nipple.

Feeling the Breasts

1. Lie back in a relaxed position and put your right arm behind your head. This shifts the breast tissue underneath your arm towards the center of your chest, giving you better access to it and making it easier for you to palpate. If you have very large breasts, you may need to put a pillow under your left shoulder.

2. With a firm touch, examine your right breast with your left hand. You can use any of the patterns or palpation shown or of a pattern of your own, as long as it's systematic.

3. Check your armpit and along the top of your collarbone for lumps (swollen lymph nodes).

4. Put your left hand behind your head and, using your right hand, examine your left breast in the same way. Remember to check the armpit and collarbone.

Use the sensitive pads of your fingertips, keeping your fingers parallel to the skin of the breast.

Patterns of Palpation

Concentric circles “Start with a large circle around the outside of the breast, making smaller circles with your fingers as you work your way around the breast. Work inward in rings until you reach the nipple.

Radial pattern “Mentally divide the breast into a clock pattern. Work out from the nipple toward 12 o'clock, then 1, 2, 3 o'clock and so on, until you have checked the whole breast.

Up and down “Imagine the breast as a series of vertical bands, and work your way up and down each one. Move your fingers in small circles as you work around the breast.

Using the pads of your fingers, first apply light pressure to the breast, as you are checking the area just slightly underneath the breast skin's surface. Next, apply medium pressure to the breast, checking about midway inside the breast. And finally, apply deep pressure, feeling for the area deepest in the breast. You should use these three pressures as you examine your breasts. (Source: ICanServe Information Network)