One of the best ways to “prevent” breast cancer – because you can never truly prevent cancer – is to catch it early enough and one of the best ways to do that is by performing regular breast self-exams. Why? “The medical community advocates that women get to know their breasts intimately, so that they can more easily pick out abnormalities in their breasts any time of the month,” advises Dr. Bola Oyeyipo, a family physician in San Antonio, Texas and co-founder of Healthgist.com.
If you’re new to breast self-exams, you may be wondering, “When’s the best time to do them?” You can do them while you’re showering, standing in front of a mirror or when you’re lying down in bed.
When standing in front of the mirror, look for any swelling, redness, dimples in the skin, or changes in breast and nipple size and shape. Make sure both hands are on your hips and then raise both arms above your head.
When lying down, place a pillow under your shoulders and start by placing your right hand under your head and use your left hand to examine your right breast entirely. Be sure to use small, gentle, circular motions. When you get to the nipple, gently squeeze it and look for any discharge. Then use your right hand to examine your left breast repeating the same steps. Don’t neglect the armpit area.
Examining your breasts in the shower is also an option. “A good number of my patients who come in for breast lump evaluation found the lump while taking their shower,” Dr. Oyeyipo says.
More than 40,000 women will die from breast cancer this year. That is someone’s mother, grandmother, granddaughter, aunt, niece, sister, daughter, friend – the list goes on. Not only are Black women diagnosed with more aggressive forms of breast cancer, but the mortality rate tends to be much higher compared to white women.
Take control of your life by making your health a priority. If you don’t do it for you, do it for your children or someone you love. Think of it this way: If you don’t take care of yourself, how do you expect to take care of anyone else?
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