How to perform a proper breast self-exam?

I’ve got insomnia, nothing on TV, so I ended up just poking around myself🙂
A friend of mine—she had a cyst found during a mammogram—was telling me that you’re actually supposed to check your breasts a certain way. Like, she said her OB-GYN told her you should press right where the nipple is, deep enough to really feel into the tissue...that's the "correct" way to do it.
Easy for her to say, I'm like, no thanks, zero interest in all that trouble. But how am I even supposed to tell if it's just a cyst or something nasty versus just normal glandular tissue? I wouldn't know a tumor from a hole in the wall if it hit me in the face.

I’m telling you, it is seriously tough. Back when I was in nursing school, we had to use these anatomical models to hunt for simulated tumors... Basically, there were four hidden ones in our "practice" session, and out of my group of six, only one person actually found all four. One person got three, three of us found two, and everyone else found even fewer. I honestly couldn't believe it.

But, you know, practice makes perfect. You really need to get comfortable performing self-exams—checking everywhere, including under the nipple and all around, especially toward the armpit area since that upper outer quadrant is where most things tend to pop up. Once you truly know your own body, you'll notice if anything ever feels off...

Ugh, I seriously thought I was the only one still awake, besides maybe the night shift crew at FedEx😁
thanks🙂

Seriously though, what's the deal with (us😁 ) wearing way too many bras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it’s basically just a bunch of lumps you end up poking😲 😁
Tia, how do you even handle those checkups?😁

I'm still up 👋

Just a heads-up: if a woman still has significant glandular tissue, performing a self-exam can be incredibly difficult...

That’s why you absolutely MUST have a professional handle it at least once a year.

Betty Rivera14 said:I'm wide awake too 👋

Just wanted to mention that if a woman still has decent tissue development, doing a self-exam can be a total pain...

So seriously, make sure you let a professional handle it at least once a year.

hahahaha, did El Junior make it back home from the rock concert party?
But yeah, for real—you gotta book that checkup at least once a year..

Here we go, just waiting for the stubborn ones to finally split up 😉

He headed back home to grab some CDs; he wasn't drunk or anything else 😍

I don't know why, but every time I hear about breast self-exams, I get this knot in my stomach. Maybe it's just some subconscious paranoia, or maybe I'm just overthinking it, I guess.

Man, they’ve got so much energy... back in my day, I could have stayed up partying until sunrise without breaking a sweat🙂 actually, scratch that, I don't think I could 😁

placidotter15 said:I don't know why, but every time I hear about doing my own breast self-exams, I just get this wave of anxiety. It’s like—the idea of actually poking around and searching for something that might be there, or even worse, worrying if nothing is there... I don't know, maybe it's just some deep-seated paranoia or whatever.

Honestly, same here—the whole "searching" thing totally freaks me out too.

I deal with these swollen lymph nodes quite a bit, and it always feels like there's this little lump—you know, one that moves around? It's mostly tucked away near my armpit, but it usually just fades away after a while. It's not really a constant thing, thankfully.

loler said:I totally get that whole "searching for something" anxiety too, it’s honestly such a nerve-wracking thing to deal with.

Like, I have more active lymph nodes, and I always feel this little lump, you know? It moves around near my armpit area, but then it just... disappears. It isn't really there all the time, mostly.

But yeah, I guess the best plan is just to stick your head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong, because who knows? You might actually find something scary if you look.
I mean, seriously, if I don't check—if I don't feel anything—then the illness just keeps progressing quietly, and by the time it actually shows up, it might be way too late for any kind of treatment to even work.🙄
Come on, ladies, please, just take care of yourselves.
I honestly can't even wrap my head around what would have happened if I hadn't been checking myself and found that lump, or if I hadn't gone in for my checkups (first I had an ultrasound where they were all like, "it's nothing, just some calcification," but then just to be safe, I went in for a mammogram, and that's when they were like, "we're seeing some suspicious tissue that needs to be removed immediately").
Maybe I wouldn't even be holding my little sunshine in my arms today.😢

Sorry, girls, I guess I just get really frustrated by those kinds of naive attitudes.

someone said:But honestly, it’s all about practicing until you know your own body inside and out. I mean, you really should get used to checking everything—like, definitely check under the nipple and all around, especially moving toward the armpit area, since that upper outer quadrant is where most things tend to pop up. If you just take the time to really get familiar with how things normally feel, you'll catch any weird changes right away if something ever goes wrong.

I totally agree,
plus you could always just ask your OB-GYN to actually walk you through the best ways to do a self-exam during your next visit, 🙂

Ugh, finally you showed up... honestly, I'm glad. But seriously, it feels like every young woman out there is getting hit with breast cancer lately. There are just no rules anymore. It's freaking terrifying...

darkviper5 said:sorry ladies, I just can't stand that kind of naive optimism.

I get what you're getting at, but I don't think what we wrote means we aren't paying attention. It's more like we just have this weird gut feeling about it. I guess any woman knows how much this matters. 🙂 😉

My doctor checks me out twice a year—I always seem to find something weird when I try to do my own self-exams 🙄 but so far, everything’s been totally fine

When I first felt that huge lump in my upper left breast, I nearly blacked out before rushing straight to the doctor. At first, he actually told me it was a good sign that it was painful, but then he did the exam, started moping about how things didn't look right, and immediately set up a mammogram appointment for me at the clinic.

You can probably imagine the feeling (darkviper5 surely knows).

I’m 25, I smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day, I’m basically 35 thanks to Diane, my hormones are a complete mess, and then there’s this...

After the memo, the specialist looked at me and asked, "So, what's the issue here?"

I explain everything, and he just gives me this little smile and says, "It's just some swollen glands."

Okay, if my primary care doctor couldn't figure it out, how am I supposed to know?

I do regular self-exams, but they don't tell me anything—there are so many lumps that I might as well spend every single month getting crushed between those metal plates at the imaging center...

Basically, they told me to just do it for peace of mind and only call them if something gets seriously large (🙄 ). What's even the point of any of this? 🤔

And let’s not forget the fact that in the US, standard mammogram screenings typically kick off at age 50. The logic is simple: breast cancer tends to show up most frequently once you're past your fifties, and running these tests any earlier just creates unnecessary stress for everyone involved.🙄

"Medical checkups are just unnecessary stress..."

It’s honestly ridiculous...

Someone actually asked how things were going with my family. My answer? Nobody has anything to show for it except the same old issues with bad luck.

Then they had the nerve to tell me not to worry. 🙄

For me, the exam wasn't stressful at all—if anything, I was just eager to find out what was going on. Honestly, I’d feel a lot more at peace if they handled this professionally instead of whatever this is. Right now, I’m basically begging my partner to check me every single month. He’s practically turned into an amateur expert at this point... 🙄

My mom tried once and nearly lost her mind—she said nothing looked normal to her. But she deals with the exact same issue I do, and somehow everything still looks just as small and symmetrical on both breasts.

copperridge912 said:I can't sleep, there's nothing good on TV, so I started doing some self-checks...🙂
A friend of mine—she actually had a cyst found during a mammogram—was telling me how you're supposed to check your breasts properly, like pressing right in where the nipple is to feel deeper inside... she said her OBGYN told her that was the right way to do it.
It sounds simple enough, I guess, no biggie, but how are you even supposed to tell the difference between a tiny cyst or something serious and just normal breast tissue?... I honestly wouldn't be able to tell what's what...

My doctor told me I should always do my checks right after my period ends, and basically just look for anything that feels different from the other side—so if you feel something hard or lumpy that isn't present on the other breast, then you go get checked out immediately...
That’s how I’ve been doing it for years, and I still go in for my annual exam once a year, and everything has been totally fine so far...

iggix said:after I felt this huge lump in my upper left breast, I honestly thought I was going to pass out right then and there... I rushed straight to the doctor, and he actually told me it was a good sign that it was painful, but after checking me over, he got really worried and personally scheduled an immediate mammogram at the clinic.

but how are we even supposed to tell if something is actually "large"...

they’re honestly kind of ridiculous...

and besides, they always say if it hurts it’s nothing, which is just total nonsense...

a friend of mine, she was only 27 when she went to see her doctor because she had a painful lump, and it turned out to be cancer... it was just devastating...

she ended up having a full mastectomy on her left side, and she has three kids and had just gone through a divorce right before the surgery...

but she’s doing wonderful now, she finished up her degree in the meantime and she's healthy and happy...