Ladies and gentlemen, do you do monthly self-breast exams? Yes, the guys have it easier. Early detection is a big key to beating breast cancer. A while back I had a post about preventive healthcare for men ,and for women. Today we will talk breast self-exams.
According to Cancer.org last revised Jan 2020 “The American Cancer Society’s estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2020 are:
About 276,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
About 48,530 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) will be diagnosed (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
About 42,170 women will die from breast cancer.”
Men also can have breast cancer and Cancer.org has information about breast cancer in Men. According to cancer.net “An estimated 2,620 men in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer.”
The basics,if you do a self-exam every month, you will learn the feel of your breast. You will notice, if something, just does not feel right. If this happens make an appointment with your primary care provider, to discuss further evaluation. According to National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. “Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump, so establishing a regular breast self-exam is very important.” National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc offers The free resource, 3 Steps to Early Detection. They also offer information on how to do you self breast exam. Breastcancer.org has great information on self breast exams and what to do if you find something that concerns you.
There are many ways to remind yourself. Set an appointment on your phone calendar, for the same date each month. A sticker on your wall calendar(printable here). Always, do it the second Sunday, or if female after your menses. You get the idea, just figure out what will remind you and do your self exam. You could be saving your own life.
Here are some great tools for learning to do your exams. You should start doing these exams around age 20, according to most experts. Clinical exams are completed when you have yearly well women exams. These guidelines change with time, however, there is no cost and no harm in doing your self exam so consider doing them.
Now for the how to do a self breast exam. There are many sites that have handouts (some of the links, listed above also, have them). There are you tube videos(like the one below) you can watch. It is a matter of remembering to do them and being consistent with doing them. Our local TV network runs a campaign called “buddy check 3” you sign up with a friend to remind each other to do their self exam on the 3rd day of the month.
Breast cancer kills both women and men every year. To increase your chances complete your self exam monthly. Do you have a story to share? Did you find something concerning during your self exam? Do you and a buddy remind each other? Feel free to share in comments below.
This is not medical advise, this is for informational purposes only. This is not a substitute for seeing your primary care provider. If you have concerns make an appointment with your primary care provider to address them.