Breastlight is a breast screening device for the healthy women to check any abnormalities in their breasts.
Showing posts with label self breast examination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self breast examination. Show all posts
Don’t Miss Your Monthly Visual And Physical Breast Examination
Normally
a self breast exam starts by breast look. It is commonly known as visual exam.
In this exam you have to look your chest area for presence of any abnormal
change. After undressing the upper part of your body stand in front of mirror
and look at the apparent shape and outer skin of your chest. Breast skin is a
very good indicator of any anomalous change.
When
you are looking at breast skin you have to carefully examine the texture and
appearance of your skin. Breast cancer most of the times causes scratches or
rashes on skin and it can also change the color. Breast redness is a clear
indication of breast cancer that is most often confused with breast infection.
It is an indication of some aggressive type of breast cancer like in
Inflammatory breast cancer the breast gets red and swelled and it is a very
aggressive type, and if you experience a change like this you have to consult it
at once.
After
getting a good idea of your breast look feel your breasts because some breast
abnormalities can develop inside breast tissues. if you find a lump when
performing a monthly exam in breast or in underarm you are advised to plan an
immediate appointment to an expert
Not
only all women should perform a Self breast examination but they should ask
even their daughter, sister, and other ladies close to them to check their
breasts every month.
What You Need to Do
There are a number of factors
involved in occurrence of a disease. Some factors are controllable and others
are out of a person’s control. Same is with breast cancer in which a number of
factors are in women’s hand to control and reduce breast cancer risk.
Along with controllable factors
some factors are there that a person can’t have power over them. Women are at
high risk of breast cancer but women with uncontrollable factors are relatively
more close to develop it. These factors are;
Growing age:
Women above 40 are considered to
be more sensitive to breast cancer development. And it is said that with
passage of every decade after 40 breast cancer risk gets double.
Sexual category:
In human being female gender is
at higher risk of developing breast cancer. Men are also suffering this disease
but number of women, falling prey to this cancer, is ever increasing.
Family History:
Although there were women who had
close relatives with breast cancer but they never had it in their lives, and
the women who didn’t have a single member in family having breast cancer are
suffering this disease. But, however research has shown that family history affects
the rate of breast cancer risk.
Personal History:
Women with breast cancer stroke once
in life are at a high risk of its reoccurrence.
Genetic Mutations:
Mutations are the changes
occurring in your DNA. Sometimes, these changes prove damaging to DNA, and can
result in cancer development
These are certainly the factors
which you can’t manage to keep in check, but however you need to perform breast cancer self examination which is indeed helpful in not only reducing breast cancer
risk but works effectively in early detection of this disease.
Useful Methods for Early Detection of Breast Cancer
There are two questions that
should be known by every woman all over the world due to a wide spread disease
of women population breast cancer. Women of what age should undergo breast screening?
What screening methods are common these days? This disease is becoming so
common in every corner of the world because of a rapid increase in population;
however there are advancements in technology but still no way to prevent it has
been discovered yet.
There are different ways to
detect cancer at initial stage that increase the survival chances as well as
better treatment options can be obtained in case of primary stage best cancer
comparatively. There are different ways that can be applied to catch cancer at
initial stage, and each method has unique features, but the basic purpose of
all methods is early detection. These methods are
Self Breast
Examination:
It is self explanatory as it is
performed by women themselves to look for changes in the structure or
appearance of breasts. Self breast examination has two
parts one is visual examination, and the second one is manual examination of
breast to notice the changes of all types.
Clinical Breast
Examination:
Clinical breast examination is the inspection of breasts by
expert doctors to locate the abnormal changes that can lead to the development
of breast cancer.
Breast Cancer
Screening:
Breast cancer screening is also
used to detect cancer at initial stage especially in older women when the risk
to develop breast cancer is higher to them.
Ultrasound:
When mammography fails to detect
breast cancer ultrasound helps detecting it earlier.
Biopsy:
It is a dangerous method however, but used to diagnose whether
the lump is malignant or not.
How to Be Breast Aware?
Women are advised to be breast aware for early detection of the cancer and they need to be active in this regard because without their active participation it is not possible to enlighten their awareness and it is a continuous procedure that needs to be updated on regular basis by staying in touch with the breasts. Self examination is one of the best ways to be in touch with breasts and constant contact with the breasts is of core importance to locate the anomalies which develop in the breasts anytime and are hazardous to health and life like if the abnormal changes are due o the cancer they can lead to the development of cancer in breasts.
Breast Anomalies
Breast anomalies are the changes in breasts that are not the part of normal breast development and growth and appear suddenly without any known reason that can lead to the various health complications such as one of the most common problem of women world breast cancer and most of the women notice the following changes.
- Lumps in the breasts, collarbone and armpit, although not all lumps are malignant as most of the lumps can be benign as well so it’s not necessary that all lumps are cancerous.
- Swelling in the armpit or in any part of the breast is abnormal and can be due to the cancer.
- Fluid discharge from nipple other than breast milk.
- Changes in the breast skin such as dimpling, puckering etc.
- Increased temperature of the breast.
- Inversion, ulceration or soreness of nipples.
A woman who knows about all these changes and related aspects in detail she can take better care her breasts so women should perform self breast exam in order to learn about the breasts for locating the anomalies as they take place.
Why Is Self Breast Exam Advised?
Self breast exam is advised to women of all ages starting at the age of 20 it should be done regularly with the aim to stay in touch with breasts as they are volatile in nature and many changes take place in this part of the body over the time so women must do something to keep an eye on the changes so that usual and unusual changes can be distinguished easily as usual changes are useful to breasts the unusual ones are hazardous and can lead to the development of cancer in this delicate part of the body. This exam is divided into two main parts
Visual Inspection
Visual inspection can be done with the help of a mirror as a woman can sit or stand in front of a mirror and she must remove the dress from upper part of the body to have a clear view then she first look at the overall appearance of the breast which include shape, size, condition of skin, position of the nipple etc because any abnormal change in the appearance can affect the overall health and can be the indication of cancer as well so to notice these changes as they take place is necessary.
Manual Inspection
After visual inspection manual inspection of the breasts is also important as all changes can’t be observed during visual inspection so manual inspection looks for the changes such as formation of lump, swelling in the armpit or breast, increased temperature of the breast and women should also squeeze the nipples to check the fluid discharge from nipple.
How to Stay In Contact With Breasts?
It is a well known fact that women breasts are more likely to change throughout the life so women need to be aware of all these changes in order to identify the changes soon as the take place because breasts are sensitive so they don’t get much time to be affected by the changes so for this reason women are highly recommended to perform self breast examination each month. The reason to advise monthly examination is the volatile nature of breasts so to keep an eye on the changes is mandatory for women so that the changes can be detected as they take place.
When to Perform Self Examination?
As self examination is personal choice of women so the selection of time also depends upon women that which time is suitable for them and which day of the month can be selected for this important work to do. Women are advised to choose a day after periods when breasts are in their normal condition and no usual changes are there that may create any misunderstanding.
There is no set standard in this regard and every woman takes the decision according to her convenience unfortunately there are some women who are reluctant to perform self examination because they are not clear how to do it and what to look for. Women must understand this thing at first that understanding your own body is not difficult and if you focus on the change you want to observe you can identify these changes easily.
Self Breast Examination – a Way to well Being
In this fast paced world human beings are living a luxurious life due to good science most of the works are done by machines, but this lack of physical activity has give way to many diseases and obesity that is considered to be the root cause of many health complications especially it is included into the major risk factors of breast cancer. Obesity is the result of unhealthy diet full of fats instead of healthy balanced diet and lack of physical activity so it must be kept at distance by adopting healthy life style.
What Women Should Do?
Women should adopt an active life style because it is good not only to health, but also increases the risk to be affected by the dreadful ailment of women breast cancer. Women need to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables instead of junk and processed food as these food items increase the risk of breast cancer.
They need to be physically active and should do most of their works by themselves instead of being dependent upon machines. If life style of a woman does not allow being physically active she must schedule regular exercise of at least 30 minutes daily minimum 5 days a week.
Women need to perform regular self breast examination so that they can remain aware of the usual and unusual changes. If unusual changes are there they must be diagnosed at initial stage because at this stage they are easily treatable.
Have a Profound Awareness to beat Breast Cancer
As we all know, one of the most atrocious diseases ‘breast cancer’ has affected tens of millions of lives in the past years, it is the need of time to promote breast awareness among masses. Since the cure is not found for this disease, there are certain steps that can be taken to reduce its risk. While many people know the certain risk factors to reduce their risk of getting breast cancer and perform self breast check to detect anomalies, it is equally important to educate other people about the importance of breast awareness.
Early Detection Saves a Life
In earlier times, lack of awareness and low level treatment methods made breast cancer a dreadful disease. A lot of myths developed and still some women believe in some breast cancer myths. Breast cancer is not a death sentence and can be treated in an easy and effective way. Yes, the improved awareness and better diagnosis methods have made this disease easy to diagnose and treat provided that it is detected early. Being a woman, you should be aware of the various changes of breasts. As breasts go through numerous changes with the course of time, if you do not know which one is normal, you might get confused and worried.
Say No To Junk Food and Save Your Breasts
Junk food is so popular among masses and nobody thinks about the negative impact it has on one’s health. It is the reason of many diseases such as diabetes, cardiac problems, obesity and cancer etc. We never want to have any of these diseases, but unfortunately the most common disease among women is breast cancer.
Women need to strike a balance so that they can enjoy food by making healthy choices. According to recent research junk foods contributes to improve breast cancer risk in women and men both. It affects overall health of a person and increases the number of calories to make a person obese.
Feeling Pain in Breasts? What’s Going On?
Many women consider breast pain (mastalgia) as a sign of breast cancer, but in fact, this pain is not necessarily linked to a cancerous disease. It is important to know what breast pain is and how it can be eradicated so you can improve your breast awareness. As you know, your breasts go through numerous changes over time so its pain can be part of these changes. It is important to know which change is normal for you as it helps in detection of any possible anomalies. Breast pain can be felt due to following reasons:
Healthy Lifestyle Can Have a Positive Impact on Your Life

Do you know how important it is to perform self breast examination? Self-examination of your breasts is of paramount importance as it enhances your awareness and allows you to easily identify any abnormal changes in the breast tissue. Apart from self examination of breasts, there are various other fundamental breast checkups and screening tests like mammogram, MRI, ultrasound and monthly clinical breast checkup. These checkups and screening tests have preference over self examination of breasts so you need not to consider self examination as a substitute for these fundamental breast checkups and screening tests. Self-examination is a useful addition to your awareness routine that helps you to gain an improved sense of self confidence. There are many women who feel comfortable with self-examination as it does not require visiting your doctor.
The Impact of Healthy Breasts in a Woman’s Life
Getting to know how your breasts appear normally is an important part of every woman’s life. As you know breast cancer has become a global epidemic, women all around the world have become more aware of their breasts and focus on maintaining healthy breasts to decrease chances of getting breast cancer. According to statistics, more than 47.000 breast cancer cases are diagnosed each year in the UK and this figure is rising day by day. This figure is not such alarming because breast awareness and educational programs have enabled UK women to become more aware of their breasts. It is due to awareness and effective treatment methods that number of deaths caused by breast cancer have decreased.
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