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Is Routine Breast Care Non Negotiable?

By Glinn Klienberg

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 10Mar2012
Word count: 955
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In the last several years, some organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Preventative Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society have decided to modify their recommendation concerning routine breast care with self-screening breast exams. However, not all the medical professionals agree.

A recent review that was published in medical literature studied large-scale clinical trials. They, too, concluded that routine self-exams do not lower the number of deaths from breast cancer. However, women who found lumps in their breast(s) disagree. Many state that by the time they would have received their next mammogram; their cancer could have progressed or even spread.

1. Virginia Kaklamani, M.D., assistant professor at Northwestern University in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and an oncologist at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois stated that currently there are several controversial statements concerning breast self-exams circling around the medical community because of some recent studies. However, she states that self-exams are an extremely important aspect of a woman's arsenal in the detection of breast cancer.

2. One reason Dr. Kaklamani believes this is that a woman who routinely performs self-exams will become adept at knowing how her breasts usually feel. This is helpful because she may detect changes in her breasts sooner than her doctor would. This is very important for the women whose breasts generally feel lumpy. The women who perform regular breast exams will be proficient at detecting subtle and significant changes in their breasts according to Dr. Kaklamani.

3. Dorothy Pierce, RN, who is an advance practice nurse in New Brunswick at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, stated that although mammograms being done on a regular basis (yearly) are very effective at detecting breast cancer and saving lives, they are not perfect. She continued saying that a mammography's sensitivity level is 80%; for this reason, using mammography alone would mean that a considerable number of cancers would go undetected.

Best Time to Do Your Self-Exam

When you should do your breast cancer self-exam will depend on several factors. However, all women should perform their exam once each month.

Premenopausal Women with Regular Cycles

If you are having menstrual cycles on a regular basis and are premenopausal, you should check your breasts on the seventh through the tenth day of your cycle. This is because this is the point when your breasts will be the least tender, swollen or lumpy because of hormonal changes. Even women that have breast implants need to perform a monthly exam.

Postmenopausal Women and Women with Irregular Cycles

Those women who are postmenopausal and women who are premenopausal with irregular cycles will choose a day. The day that she chooses needs to be a day that she is likely to remember. Many women find that performing their exam on the first day of each month is an easy day to remember.

Tips for a Successful Exam/What to Look For

It does not matter what time of day a woman checks her breasts. Pierce does suggest that performing your self-exam in the shower is helpful. This is because soapy hands may help you detect changes more easily. Be sure once you exit the shower that you look in the mirror for breast changes. Look for changes such as swelling, puckering, retraction, dimpling or skin thickening.

Why Self-Exams are Essential

According to doctors, the best chance a woman has to fight breast cancer and win is with early detection. According to Pierce, early detection is achieved using several tools. These routine breast care tools include regular breast exams annually, monthly breast cancer self-exams and yearly mammograms.

Glinn Klienberg researched breast cancer treatment options and the benefits and risks associated with each. Porter Adventist Hospital's mammogram center offers the best in breast care from routine to complex cancer treatments.

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