Do not take chances, do a self-examination

By Jacquiline Emodek

Dr. Fred Okuku of Uganda Cancer Institute says many women with early breast cancer do not have symptoms and this is where breast self-examination is important.

Below are the steps for breast self-examination.

STEP 1

Stand before a mirror and begin by looking at your breasts with shoulders straight and arms on hips. Check if your breasts are their usual size, colour and shape. If you notice dimpling, puckering or bulging of the skin, an inverted nipple, redness, soreness, a rash or swelling, see a doctor.

Dr. Okuku says if the nipple appears inverted then the cancer has advanced.

STEP 2

Raise your arms above the head, turn left and then right and observe the same changes indicated in step one.
 

STEP 3

Look for any signs of a fluid. This could be watery, milky or yellow fl uid or even blood. Use the pads of three fingers and not fingertips to examine the breasts.

STEP 4

Feel the breasts while lying down using your right hand to feel the left breast and the left hand to feel the right breast.

Dr. Innocent Mutyaba an oncologist at Fluent Medicine Healthcare Consultancy, explains that the examination is best done while lying down because the breast tissue is thinner when spread evenly over the chest, making it easier to notice any lump.

Use a firm smooth touch with the first finger pads of your hand and ensure that you keep the fingers flat and together. Move clockwise.

Do this from top to bottom, side to side, from collarbone to the top of the abdomen and from armpit to cleavage. Begin with the nipple, moving in larger circles, until you reach the outer edge of the breast.

You can also move the fingers up and down vertically.

STEP 5

Feel your breast while you are standing or sitting. Many women fi nd that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slippery so they prefer doing this step while in the shower.

Use the movements in step four.

Rebecca Mayengo, the chairperson Uganda Women’s Cancer Support Organisation, says the best time to do a self-breast exam is about 10 days after your period starts because your breasts are not so tender or lumpy at that time in your cycle. Okuku says that during a woman’s monthly periods, she may experience signs similar to those she is supposed to look out for and this will make her come to wrong conclusions.


If you have gone through menopause, do your exam on the same day every month.


While mammograms can help detect cancer before a lump can be felt, breast self-examination makes one become familiar with how their breasts feel and look.


Breast self-examination is recommended once every month.
 

Key points

According to Mutyaba, women in their 20s should perform breast examination regularly.

Finding a breast change does not necessarily mean it is cancer.


Review your method of self-breast-examination with your doctor periodically to make sure you are doing it correctly.


There are limitations to self-breast examination therefore, seek additional methods to check for breast cancer.