A breast self-exam is a proactive step toward breast awareness, allowing women to become familiar with the normal look and feel of their breasts. By regularly performing self-exams, women can detect changes early and discuss them with a healthcare provider. While not a substitute for professional screenings, self-exams complement other detection methods. Additionally, homeopathy offers natural and effective solutions for benign breast conditions like fibroadenomas and early-stage breast cancer, focusing on holistic healing and long-term wellness.
A breast self-exam for breast awareness is an inspection of your breasts that you do on your own. To help increase your breast awareness, you use your eyes and hands to determine if there are any changes to the look and feel of your breasts.
If you notice new breast changes, discuss these with your doctor. Though most breast changes detected during a self-exam for breast awareness have benign causes, some changes may signal something serious, such as breast cancer.
Most medical organizations don’t recommend routine breast self-exams as a part of breast cancer screening. That’s because breast self-exams haven’t been shown to be effective in detecting cancer or improving survival for women who have breast cancer.
Still, it is believed that there is value in women being familiar with their own breasts, so they understand what’s normal and promptly report changes.
Breast self exam should begin around age 20 and be performed at certain interval frequently. The breast is usually easiest to examine on the days immediately following the menstrual cycles.
What you can expect
Begin with a visual examination of your breasts
Sit or stand shirtless and braless in front of a mirror with your arms at your sides. To inspect your breasts visually, do the following:
- Face forward and look for puckering, dimpling, or changes in size, shape or symmetry.
- Check to see if your nipples are turned in (inverted).
- Inspect your breasts with your hands pressed down on your hips.
- Inspect your breasts with your arms raised overhead and the palms of your hands pressed together.
- Lift your breasts to see if ridges along the bottom are symmetrical.
If you have a vision impairment that makes it difficult for you to visually inspect your breasts, ask a trusted friend or a family member to help you.
Next, use your hands to examine your breasts
Common ways to perform the manual part of the breast exam include:
- Lying down.Choose a bed or other flat surface to lie down on your back. When lying down, breast tissue spreads out, making it thinner and easier to feel.
- In the shower.Lather your fingers and breasts with soap to help your fingers glide more smoothly over your skin.
When examining your breasts, some general tips to keep in mind include:
- Use the pads of your fingers.Use the pads, not the very tips, of your three middle fingers for the exam. If you have difficulty feeling with your finger pads, use another part of your hand that is more sensitive, such as your palm or the backs of your fingers.
- Use different pressure levels.Your goal is to feel different depths of the breast by using different levels of pressure to feel all the breast tissue. Use light pressure to feel the tissue closest to the skin, medium pressure to feel a little deeper, and firm pressure to feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs. Be sure to use each pressure level before moving on to the next spot. If you’re unsure how hard to press, talk with your doctor or nurse.
- Take your time.Don’t rush. It may take several minutes to examine your breasts carefully.
- Follow a pattern.Use a methodical technique to ensure you examine your entire breast. For instance, imagine the face of a clock over your breast or the slices of a pie. Begin near your collarbone and examine that section, moving your fingers toward your nipple. Then move your fingers to the next section.
If you have a disability that makes it difficult to examine your breasts using this technique, you likely can still conduct a breast self-exam. Ask your doctor to show you ways you can explore your breasts.
Results
What’s normal
Many women find lumps or changes in their breasts, since some of these are normal changes that occur at various points in the menstrual cycle. Finding a change or lump in your breast is not a reason to panic. Breasts often feel different in different places. A firm ridge along the bottom of each breast is normal, for instance. The look and feel of your breasts will change as you age.
When to contact your doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice:
- A hard lump or knot near your underarm
- Changes in the way your breasts look or feel, including thickening or prominent fullness that is different from the surrounding tissue
- Dimples, puckers, bulges or ridges on the skin of your breast
- A recent change in a nipple to become pushed in (inverted) instead of sticking out
- Redness, warmth, swelling, or pain
- Itching, scales, sores, or rashes
- Bloody nipple discharge
Your doctor may recommend additional tests and procedures to investigate breast changes, including a clinical breast exam, mammogram, and ultrasound.
When you find any abnormality, We as Homeopath can Help You with expert homeopathic treatment!
Homeopathy for benign breast conditions
Any benign growths in women’s breasts such as Fibroadenoma, cysts, and tumors are curable conditions with the use of natural Homeopathic medicines. Homeopathic treatment can prevent women from the surgical excision of the cancer from the breast. Surgery can remove the tumors in the breast present at a particular time but the tendency to form tumors that are hidden in the body remains as such. Homeopathic treatment for Fibroadenoma of breast comes with a double benefit. The first is that Homeopathic medicines dissolve the tumors in the breast and the second is they help to reduce the body’s tendency to form such abnormal tumour growths by raising immunity. The entire dissipation of Fibroadenoma of breast takes a few months with the use of Homeopathic medicines. The selection of Homeopathic medicines varies for every individual.
Homeopathy for Breast Cancer
The early stage of this dreadful disease, however, is curable with proper Homeopathic medicines that can provide holistic treatment for cancer. Cancer is characterised by the unwanted increase in body cells. In a normal healthy condition, the cells are born and destroyed at a proper time. In cancerous conditions, the division and multiplication of cells becomes uncontrollable and occurs at a very high pace. Homeopathy has a huge number of medicines, which are made of natural substances, to deal with early-stage cancer cases along with other modes of treatment therapies. In advanced stages of cancer, however, Homeopathic remedies cannot provide a cure. In such cases, only palliation — care that makes you feel better though it can’t cure — is possible with natural Homeopathic medicines. It must be kept in mind though that the natural Homeopathic remedies for cancer are completely safe with no side effects. For any such help, we are just a call away!
Consult an expert female homeopath online, if you have any disturbance: Book Your Appointment with Dr Greeva Mankad