When to do breast self-examination

Give yourself a breast self-exam once a month.

Look for any changes in breast tissue, such as changes in size, feeling a palpable lump, dimpling or puckering of the breast, inversion of the nipple, redness or scaliness of the breast skin, redness or scaliness of the nipple/areola area, or discharge of secretions from the nipple.

If you discover a persistent lump in your breast or any changes, it is very important that you see a physician immediately.

Though 8 out of 10 lumps are benign, all require evaluation to confirm that they are not cancerous.

Women should perform their breast self exam 7-10 days after their menstrual period starts which is also when their breasts are the least tender and lumpy.

Clinical breast examination

If they are no longer menstruating, then she should select the same day of the month (first of the month for example) and mark it on the calendar to remind herself when to perform this self exam. What to look for is a change from last month’s exam to this month’s exam.

It is not unusual to have lu

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