Touch It Baby

Ladies it’s your body, you should be the first to know if something different is going on with it. Seriously don’t be afraid to touch yourself, feel yourself up. Who cares what people think, really what are they going to say, you can’t touch your own body? Self exams are the most common way breast cancer is found in women and early detection increases your chances of survival.
It doesn’t take a lot only 5 easy steps, honestly the hardest part is remembering to do it every month.

Step 1: Start by looking at your breasts in the mirror. Shoulders straight and your arms on your hips.

You are look for:
• Breasts that are their usual size, shape, and color
• Breasts that are evenly shaped without visible distortion or swelling

Any of the following changes, should be brought to your doctor's attention:
• Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin
• A nipple that has changed position or an inverted nipple (pushed inward instead of sticking out)
• Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling


Step 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes as in step 1

Step 3: While you're at the mirror, look for any signs of fluid coming out of one or both nipples (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fluid or blood).

Step 4: while lying down, put you right arm behind your head and use your left hand to feel your right breast. Use a firm, smooth touch with your index and middle finger pads, keeping the fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter.
Cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.



Follow one of these patterns to make sure that you cover the whole breast. This up-and-down approach seems to work best for most women. Be sure to feel all the tissue from the front to the back of your breasts: for the skin and tissue just beneath, use light pressure; use medium pressure for tissue in the middle of your breasts; use firm pressure for the deep tissue in the back. When you've reached the deep tissue, you should be able to feel down to your ribcage.

Step 5: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sitting. Many women find that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your entire breast, using the same hand movements described in Step 4.

And ladies don’t feel like your exams have to be formal. My mother found her lump when while chilling on the couch. Now im far from an expert and while how you do your exams is important, I think the effectiveness in self exams lie in how often and how regularly you do your exams.