How do you examine your own breasts?
Once a month, a few days after your period ends. What to look for, and what should send you to a doctor.
When to do it
Once a month is enough. The best time is three to five days after your period ends, when the breasts are softest and least tender. After the menopause, pick a fixed day of the month.
The aim is not to hunt for cancer but to learn what is normal for your own breasts. A woman who knows how hers usually feel notices a change far earlier.
Step by step
With your arms relaxed at your sides, look at both breasts. Check for differences in size and shape, dimpling of the skin, redness or an inward-turned nipple. Slight asymmetry is normal in most women.
Raise your hands above your head, then press your hands on your hips to tense the chest muscles. Skin dimpling becomes more obvious in these positions.
A soapy hand glides and feels more. Using the flat pads of your fingers, sweep the whole breast in small circles. Cover everything from the collarbone to the bra line and from the armpit to the breastbone.
Place a small pillow under one shoulder and put that arm behind your head. The tissue spreads over the chest wall, so deeper lumps are easier to feel in this position.
Squeeze the nipple gently. Discharge that appears on its own, from one side, from a single duct, or that is bloody, matters; clear or milky discharge from both sides that only appears on squeezing is usually unimportant.
What should send you to a doctor
- A newly noticed lump that is firm and does not move
- Persistent firmness or thickening in one breast that the other does not have
- Dimpling, orange-peel texture or redness that does not settle
- New inward pulling of the nipple, or a sore that does not heal
- Bloody discharge, or discharge appearing on its own from a single duct
- A firm area felt in the armpit
Self-examination does not replace mammography. The smallest lump that can be felt is about one centimetre across; mammography can show changes far below that. The two are complementary, not alternatives.
The content on this site is for general information and does not replace an examination by a physician. If you have symptoms, please book an appointment.
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