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SCMP Reporter

A GOOD breast self-examination takes about 15-20 minutes. If you are unsure about the procedure, ask your doctor for help.

  There are three steps, all of which must be done each time. Step one: a visual examination in front of a mirror.

  Look for any differences in shape, size, coloration and nipple position. These changes could involve dimpling or puckering, any unusual nipple discharge, an ''orange peel'' appearance to the skin and pronounced veins. Step two: an examination by touch while sitting upright. Some women like to do while bathing as their fingers slide smoothly over the skin.

  First feel the lymph node areas above and below your collar bone. Then, with one arm raised behind the head, you should examine your breast with the other hand, using the flats of the fingers.

  Pressing firmly and making small circular movements with your fingers, make a wide circle of your breast, remembering to check deep into your armpit where the lymph nodes are found.

  Increasingly smaller circles should be made until you reach the nipple.

  Squeeze your nipple in two directions, first with fingers and thumb placed above and below the breast and then on either side, to check for any discharge.

  Do exactly the same with the other breast.

  Look for any changes in texture of the skin and tissue, such as any unusual thickness, hardness or firmness, or they could be an actual lump.

  The lump may be well-defined, irregular, moveable, non-movable, tender or not tender. Step three: an examination by touch while lying down.

  This must be done because lumps in some parts of the breast can be more easily detected this way.

  Place a small rolled-up towel under the shoulder of the breast you will examine first. Then put your arm behind your head and examine your breast in the same way as step two.



How to examine your breasts