Check Your Boobs

Regular breast self-exams can help you become familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel so you can more easily detect any changes. Here is our step-by-step guide in different ways you can check your breasts:

Visual Inspection

1. Stand in Front of a Mirror: With your arms relaxed at your sides, observe your breasts in the mirror.

• Look for any changes in size, shape, or symmetry.
• Check for visible lumps, dimpling, or changes in the skin (like puckering or redness).
• Note any changes in the nipple, such as inversion (turning inward), discharge, or unusual appearance.

2. Raise Your Arms: Lift your arms overhead and repeat the visual inspection.

• Look for the same changes in contour or symmetry.
• Check if the skin pulls in any areas as you move your arms.

3. Hands on Hips: Press your hands firmly on your hips to flex your chest muscles.

• Look for dimpling or puckering, especially around the nipple.

Physical Exam - Lying Down

1. Lie Down on Your Back: This allows the breast tissue to spread out evenly across your chest wall, making it easier to feel any abnormalities.

2. Use Your Opposite Hand:

• For the right breast, use your left hand; for the left breast, use your right hand.
• Keep your fingers flat and together, using the pads of your three middle fingers.

Begin at the Collarbone: Start from the top of your breast (near the collarbone) and work your way down.

• Move your fingers in small circular motions, about the size of a quarter.
• Cover the entire breast area from top to bottom (collarbone to top of the abdomen) and side to side (from the center of your chest to your armpit).

Use Different Pressure Levels:

• Light Pressure: For tissue just beneath the skin.
• Medium Pressure: To feel a bit deeper.
• Firm Pressure: To feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs. This should not be painful.

Follow a Pattern: You can choose different patterns, like:

• Vertical Lines: Move up and down in straight lines (sometimes called the "lawnmower" technique).
• Circular Motion: Start at the nipple and make increasingly larger circles until you reach the outer edge.
• Wedge Technique: Start at the outer edge of the breast and move towards the nipple in a wedge-like motion, covering the whole breast.

Physical Exam - Standing or Showering

1. Raise One Arm: While standing, raise one arm above your head to spread the breast tissue more evenly.

2. Repeat the Exam: Use the same technique as lying down to feel for any lumps or abnormalities.

Be Aware of Additional Symptoms

• Pain or tenderness that is not related to your menstrual cycle.
• Swelling, warmth, or redness in the breast.
• Nipple changes, such as inversion, thickening, or crusting.
• Persistent itching or rash on the breast or nipple.