Contents:
- Medical Video: Steps to perform a breast self-exam explained.
- What should be prepared before the breast self examination?
- How do you do a breast examination?
- Step 1
- Step 2
- Step 3
- Step 4
- Risk of breast self-examination
- After breast examination
Medical Video: Steps to perform a breast self-exam explained.
Self breast examination is a checking technique for women that can be done at home to check for lumps in the breast. This test is sometimes called "sarari" or "check your own breast." Sarari can help detect tumors, cysts, or abnormalities in the breast.
When you think about examining breast cancer, self-examination can be considered less effective than other techniques such as mammograms. But self-examination can help you recognize the shape, size, and texture of your own breast. This is very important because it can help you determine whether you feel normal or not. When you feel something is abnormal in your breast, call your doctor.
What should be prepared before the breast self examination?
The best time to check your breasts is a few days after the menstrual cycle is complete. Because hormonal changes can affect your shape and feelings for the breast, the best examination is when your breasts are in a normal state.
For women who have not experienced the menstrual cycle again, they should choose the same day to do the test, for example the first day of each month. It is highly recommended to write a journal or note about how your breasts form at each check, to find out if there is a change.
How do you do a breast examination?
Step 1
Start by standing in front of the mirror without wearing a top, with your hands next to you. Try researching your breasts to see the following signs:
- The size and shape changes or is not symmetrical
- There are dimples or grooves
- Putting in
- Shrink
- The lower limit of the breast is not symmetrical
Check this mark when your hand is on your side, then check again with your hand above your head, and check again while lifting one breast alternately.
Step 2
Use your thumb (not the fingertips, but on the finger pads). Check your breasts when lying down and repeat again when taking a shower. Water and soap when bathing will make it easier for your fingers to glide over your skin.
Step 3
Give varying pressure and massage the breast using a finger in a spiral shape, starting from the nipple. Browse until the upper breast is close to your collarbone to the sternum, and to the side close to the armpit. Do this movement by placing one hand above your head when massaging your breast with the other hand.
Step 4
Finally, gently squeeze your nipples to check if you are removing something.
Risk of breast self-examination
Self-examination does not pose a medical risk, but can cause anxiety. Finding a lump in the breast can indeed make you worry, but 80-90% of the lump is not cancerous. Lumps are usually caused by non-cancerous conditions such as fibrocystic breast disease.
Breast self-examination can reduce the likelihood that you will have to undergo a breast biopsy, a surgical procedure that removes a little breast tissue. Because most lumps in the breast tissue are not cancerous, operations such as biopsies that turn out to be needed can actually make women at risk of experiencing rare complications, such as bleeding and infection.
After breast examination
If you find a lump or abnormality, don't panic. Remember that breast abnormalities generally turn out to be non-cancerous. Besides cancer, lumps in the breast can be caused by:
- Adenofibroma: non-cancerous tumor in breast tissue
- Fibrocystic breast disease: painful lumps in the breast caused by hormonal changes
- Intraductal papilloma: small non-cancerous tumor in the ASI duct
- Mammary fat necrosis: a lump caused by bruising, or dead tissue, or injured fatty tissue.
Checking your own breast does not mean you can ignore routine check-ups to your doctor. Make an appointment with your doctor for professional breast examinations at least twice a year.
