Breast Health Begins With You

What you need to know about breast

National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month is October
The Numbers Don’t Lie
•Breast cancer impacts over 240,000 new
patients a year in the United States alone.

•Approximately every 3 minutes a woman is

diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately
every 12 minutes breast cancer claims another
life.

• 70% of breast cancer cases occur in women

who have no identifiable risk factors.  
 
 Statistics on Breast Cancer
• An estimated 40,600 deaths (40,200 women, 400
men) from breast cancer are expected next year.
• Breast cancer ranks second among cancer deaths in
women.
• Breast cancer also strikes a small percentage of men.
• An estimated 192,200 new invasive cases of breast
cancer are expected to occur among women in the
United States this year alone.
• About 1,500 new cases of breast cancer are expected
to be diagnosed in men next year.
What do we know about causes?
Nobody knows for certain why some women develop
breast cancer and others do not. What is known is: 
•You have not done anything "wrong" in your life that
caused breast cancer. 
•You CANNOT "catch" breast cancer. 
•It is NOT caused by stress or by injury to the breast.
 
•Most women DO NOT have any known risk factors or
a history of the disease in their families. 
•Getting older DOES increase your risk of getting
breast cancer, starting at the age of 40 and continuing
into your 80s.
 Factors that increase risk
•Lifestyle

 Family
History

•Personal History
 Family History
FAMILY HISTORY: If your mother, sister,
or daughter has developed breast cancer
before menopause, you are three times
more likely to develop the disease. If two
or more close relatives (e.g., cousins,
aunts, grandmothers) have/had breast
cancer, you are at increased risk as well.
Recently, scientists have found that
mutations in genes BRCA1 and BRCA2
increase one's susceptibility to breast
cancer. A simple blood test can tell you if
you have such a condition.
 Personal History
If you've had breast cancer, you have an
increased risk of getting it again. Also, if
you've had benign breast disease (e.g.,
fibrocystic breast disease), you are at an
increased risk.

The following also put you at greater risk:

 If you began menstruating early (before age

12)
 If you take birth control pills (though evidence
is not conclusive)
 Additional Risk Factors
 If you never have children

 If you have children when you are 30 or older

 If you have menopause at 55 or older

 If you take Hormone Replacement Therapy

(HRT)

 Higher estrogen levels are strongly linked with

susceptibility to breast cancer.
 Lifestyle

 Several studies found a lower incidence

of breast cancer among women who
exercise regularly
 Higher proportion of breast cancer among
obese women.
 There is increased risk of breast cancer
with increased alcohol use (i.e., 3 or
more drinks per week); perhaps due to
the fact that alcohol increases blood
estrogen levels.
 Resources to Check Out
 Women’s Information Network Against Breast Cancer:
www.winabc.org/newweb/resources/Index.htm
 American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Resource Center:
www3.cancer.org/cancerinfo/res_home.asp?ct=5
 Breast Cancer Action: www.bcaction.org
 Celebrating Life Foundation: www.celebratinglife.org/index.html
The promotion of charitable endeavors that encourage the
advancement of knowledge and awareness of breast cancer risk
and risk management in the African American community and for
women of color.
 Department of Defense Breast Cancer Decision Guide:
www.bcdg.org
For individuals diagnosed with breast cancer and their family
members.
 National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations:
www.nabco.org
Provides information, assistance and referral to anyone with
questions about breast cancer, and acts as a voice for the
interests and concerns of breast cancer survivors and women
at risk.
 Imaginis.net - the Breast Health Specialists:
www.imaginis.net/breasthealth
Comprehensive, up-to-date information on breast health and
related breast cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis and
treatment procedures.
Why Do a Breast Self Exam?
Breast Self Exam Information
•It is easy to do and the more you do it, the better
you will get at it.
•When you get to know how your breasts normally
feel, you will quickly be able to feel any change,
and early detection is the key to successful
treatment. A breast self-exam could save your
breast - and your life.
•Most breast lumps are found by women
themselves, but in fact, most lumps in the breast
are not cancer.
When to do a Breast Self-Exam

The best time to do breast self-exam is

right after your period, when breasts are
not tender or swollen. If you do not have
regular periods or sometimes skip a month,
do it on the same day every month.
About Your Breast Self Exam…
 Remember, you are looking for
changes, so you need to collect a
month or two of data before you really
understand what change looks or feels
like. You must also realize that 9 out
of every 10 breast lumps found, thank
heavens, are not cancerous.
 There are two
basic steps to
conducting a
Breast Self Exam
(BSE): first you
look at your
breasts, and then
you touch them.
Visual Examination

 During the first part of the BSE, the

visual examination, you are looking for
changes in each breast. So if your
breasts have always been mushy,
that's not a concern unless this is a
new change.
 Stand in front of a mirror and
look for the above changes in
your breasts (from both a
frontal and profile view) in 3
different positions:
1. With your arms up behind
your head
2. With your arms down at your
sides
3. Bending forward
The changes you are looking for
include:
• Size
• Shape
• Bumps/lumps – NOTE: normal lumpiness,
like in the week before and of your
menstrual cycle, will appear as very small
and separate lumps like the texture of an
orange.
• Contour or symmetry (is there a difference
in the level between your nipples? Do both
breasts look symmetrical?)
Other Changes to Look For…
 Sores or scaly
skin
• Skin discoloration
or dimpling

 Discharge or
puckering of the
nipple
Tactile Examination

Begin by looking for the changes

while standing up. Some women
find it useful to do this part of the
BSE in the shower, since soap or
bath gel will aid in the ease of
feeling your breasts.
 For the BSE, you need to pick a
pattern to feel your breasts and
surrounding areas, which
include:
 the breast itself
 between the breast and underarm
 the underarm itself
 the area above the breast up to the
collarbone and across to your shoulder
 It is important to check
surrounding areas because breast
cancer may be found in the lymph
node tissue around your breast
and underarm.
 You use the pads
(where your
fingerprints are)
of your three
middle fingers on
your right hand
pressed together
flat to check your
left breast, and
do the opposite
for the right
breast.
 You should press on your breast
with varying degrees of pressure:
 light (move the skin without
moving the tissue underneath)
 medium (midway into the tissue)
 hard (down to the ribs "on the
verge of pain")
Patterns
 Spiral (concentric circles): begin with
a large circle around the perimeter of
your breast and make smaller and
smaller circles as you work your way
toward the nipple.
 Pie shape wedges: pretend your
breast is divided into sections like
pieces of a pie, begin in the nipple area
and feel your breast in a small circular
motion within one pie shape section,
then move on to the next wedge
starting in the nipple area again.
 Up and down: pretend
your breast is divided into
vertical stripes, begin on
one side and feel your
breast in a small circular
motion up and down in a
zig zag pattern.
 When using any of the 3 patterns,
you should always be using a
circular rubbing motion (in dime-
sized circles) without lifting up
your fingers.
Once you've performed the tactile
examination while standing up in
front of a mirror, you should do
the whole examination again, this
time while lying down.
 Put your left arm behind your head and use
your right hand to examine your left
breast.
 Put a small pillow or towel under your left
shoulder to aid you.
 Again, use the pads of your 3 fingers of
your right hand to check your left breast in
the pattern of your choice (spiral, pie
shape wedges, or up and down).
 Be sure to always use the same pattern
(it's the best way to know if there are
changes).
 And again, don't forget to feel
your breast using light, medium,
and hard pressure.

 After you're finished, you must

repeat the procedure again for
your right breast.
Here’s what you might find during
your breast exam:
 Tender, lumpy breasts
This is usually part of your regular menstrual cycle
due to swelling because you retain more water.

 Overall small lumps and a bumpy/grainy

texture
If this texture is found on both breasts in the area
around your nipples and the upper and outer parts
of your breasts, you might only have fibrocystic
breasts.
 Single lump that feels like an oval
and is hard on the outside, squishy
on the inside
This may be a cyst. You can usually
move a cyst under the skin and they
sometimes produce a dull pain. A cyst is
a fluid-filled sac that can vary in size
from a pea to a half-dollar. Cysts appear
most often in women aged 35 to 50 and
increase as menopause approaches.
They are benign.
 Single, solid lump that feels round
like a small rubber ball and can be
moved
This may be a fibrodenoma, a benign
and painless tumor made up of
connective tissue and other cells. A
fibrodenoma may vary in size from a
marble to a lemon. They are more
common in women in their late teens
and early 20s or older women on
Hormone Replacement Therapy.
 Overall distinct large lumps
These may be just exaggerated lumpiness,
called pseudolumps. These may be caused by
scar tissue, a clump of fat cells, or an
abscess (pus-filled sac). Sometimes nursing
women experience mastitis, when bacteria
enters the breast from dry cracks in the skin.
 Single, solid lump that can NOT be
moved
Look for hard, irregular borders to the lump.
Also, determine if the lump appears in only
one breast and if it remains the same size
throughout your menstrual cycle. Note that
thickened or dimpled skin is a sign of a lump
that can NOT be moved (other benign lumps
are movable because they are filled with fluid
or lumps of fat). If all of the above occur,
these are symptoms of breast cancer. Get it
checked out immediately.
 Sores or scaly skin
An open, itchy sore could just be a
simple skin irritation (like from a new
lacy bra that's cutting into you, or
from switching your laundry
detergent). However, in a few women,
this could be a sign of Paget's disease,
a rare form of breast cancer.
 Discharge or puckering of the
nipple
Persistent clear or bloody discharge
from one nipple may indicate cancer
in your breast ducts. Also, an inverted
or puckered nipple (e.g., pulled back
into the breast) may be a symptom of
breast cancer.
 If you find that you exhibit any
characteristics that are abnormal or
concern you (aside from normal
menstrual lumpiness or retention of
water), don't screw around. Go see
your physician immediately for a clinical
breast exam and other tests. While some
of the abnormalities mentioned are
usually benign, nothing is 100% and it's
good to keep your doctor in the loop.