Breast cancer has affected many of us––through personal diagnosis or because family or friends have battled this disease. One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. It is the most diagnosed cancer among women.
Even though we usually associate breast cancer with women, an estimated 2,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately 440 will die each year, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
So what can we do to protect ourselves from this disease? If you’re being proactive with breast self-exams and regular doctor visits, you can reduce your risk of death from the disease by 36 percent.
When conducting a breast self-exam, look for the following signs, which would indicate a need to see your doctor:
- Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling
- Unusual size, shape, or color
- Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin
- A nipple that has changed position (pushed inward instead of sticking out)
If you notice any sudden changes in your breast tissue, bring them to your doctor’s attention. Breasts that have symmetrical shape and no signs of swelling and color distortion can still be at risk.
Remember, all tips can also be applied to men.
When doing a visual self-exam, start by looking in the mirror with your hands on your hips and your shoulders facing straight. 
- Look for signs of fluid coming from one or both nipples. This could be watery, milky, yellow fluid or blood.
- Continue looking in the mirror, raise your arms, and look for the same changes in your breast tissue.
- Lie down, and using your right hand on your left breast and your left hand on your right breast, press firmly yet smoothly with your index and middle fingers.
- Using circular motions, cover the top, bottom, and both sides of the breast. Go all the way from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.
- Begin at the nipple and move in circles until you reach the outside of your breast tissue. You can also work your fingers vertically or horizontally.
- Use light pressure just beneath your breast tissue, medium pressure in the middle of your breast, and firm pressure for the deep tissue in the back or where you will be able to feel your ribcage.
- Finally, do one last exam while sitting or standing in the shower. Feel your entire breast by using the movements described above.
Women older than 45 should get annual mammograms. These low-dose X-rays can detect changes in breast tissue, as well as cancerous cells. Mammograms, however, have a small margin of error. Breast cancers are found by physical examinations rather than mammography about 20 percent of the time.
Thanks to advances in cancer detection, there has been a decrease in female breast cancer diagnoses and death rates have been declining since 1990. This is most likely due to more access to early-detection screening, increased awareness, and better treatment options. There are about 2.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States today.
Get in the habit of doing self-exams once a month, and we will fight this disease, one exam at a time.
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