by Evangeline Uriyu

Created on: February 21, 2011

BSE, or breast self exam is a life saving exam a woman can do for herself.  In fact, many experts believe that a woman who practices regular breast self exam will be able to find a lesion in her breast much smaller than what her gynecologist can often find.  Why? A woman who performs this exam on a monthly basis knows her breasts as well as she knows her own neighborhood.  Just as she would know immediately if someone new moved into her neighborhood, so would she notice when something new appears in her breast. In essence, the woman has become an expert in her own breast architecture. The age to start BSE is age 20.

One of the most important things to remember when performing a breast self exam is the time of the month.  Never perform BSE just before your menstrual cycle or just after ovulation.  After ovulation, which takes place anywhere from day seven to day twenty three in the menstrual cycle, the breast prepares for a possible pregnancy.  The tissue changes, becomes engorged with fluid and becomes extremely difficult to examine; even for a professional.  This is the time of month when lumps and bumps will be there and they are more than likely 100% normal.  Instead, perform BSE on day three to seven of the menstrual cycle when breast tissue is at its calmest state.  Day one of a woman’s cycle is the first day of a full menstrual flow.

If a woman is post-menopausal, obviously she cannot use her menstrual cycle as a gauge to time when to do BSE.  Instead, pick a date and stick with it faithfully.  For example; the first day of the month, the last day of the month or the day of one’s birthday.  For the post-menopausal woman, consistency is still very important hence the same time every month

Now that you have picked the best day of the month to perform BSE, you are ready to get started.

• Visual Inspection

Standing in front of a mirror, place your hands on your hips and visually examine your breasts.  Women do not have breasts that are exactly the same size and that is normal.  Look for dimpling of the skin, changes in nipples such as nipple retraction or skin changes such as scaling or redness of the nipple. 

Raise your arms over your head and looking in the mirror, make sure that both breasts look the same and there are no obvious changes.

Lastly, bend over with your hands on your hips and notice if both breasts flow freely away from the chest wall.  Make sure

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