Medical Informations

Medical Informative Booklets

Screening

Breast Self-Examination

Do you know how to perform a self-examination ?

 

	Sit down or stand up in front of a mirror, place your arms along the side of your body, examine your breasts in detail in order to detect any deformation. Turn slowly to the right, then to the left. Observe whether the size or the shape of your breast change, whether wrinkles or hollows appear on the skin and whether there is a nipple retraction or discharge.
	Now, cross your arms and place your thumb into the bend of the opposite arm. Raise both arms simultaneously and place them on your head. Re-examine your breasts in front of the mirror. Then, turn slowly to the right, then to the left. During this movement, examine the contours of your breasts to detect any deformation. Check whether there has been any change since your last examination.
	Lie on your back. Put your left hand under your head. Imagine a clock placed on your left breast and follow the big hand of this imaginary clock at every hour. This method will allow you to be sure you have palpated the whole breast. Make small circular movements with your right hand, joining your stretched fingers. Check for any small hard lump that might have appeared since your last examination. Place your left arm along the side of your body. Examine the hollow of your left armpit with the stretched fingers of your right hand. The last control on your left breast is an examination of the nipple: squeeze it between your index and your thumb and check for any discharge.
	Repeat the same examination on your right breast, using your left hand.

Institut Jules Bordet - Clinique de Dépistage Boulevard de Waterloo 125 - 1000 Bruxelles
phone number : 02/541.30.50

Back to : Choice of "Medical Informative Booklets"

 

Checking of this page : 01/2012