While conversing with our daughters about the exam, why not take advantage of the opportunity to talk to them about breast awareness and the importance of monthly self-exams? This would also be a good time to show our teens how to perform the self-exam. Doctors recommend that a woman begin the exam naked from the waist up, standing in front of a mirror with her arms raised above her head. She should check the appearance of her breasts – from the front and from both sides – and look for dimpling of the skin (which often looks like the skin of an orange). Once she has checked the appearance, she should begin the palpation of her breast tissue, beginning underneath her arms, moving her fingers in small circles and at different depths, feeling for lumps as she goes. She should continue moving her fingers in these small circles from under her arms to the outer areas of her breasts, continuing in circles around the breast until she reaches the nipple. She should squeeze the nipples to check for milky or otherwise discolored discharge. Once the exam is completed in the standing position, it is recommended that it be repeated while lying down, one hand under her head, the other performing the exam.
The exam will seem more normal for our teens if they see that we do it on a regular basis and that we are comfortable doing it. It will also provide them with more information about their upcoming visit to the doctor. If we show our daughters that we can be open with them about this topic, they will be more likely to continue to come to us with questions of other sorts when they have them. Some women even opt to bring their daughters with them when have mammograms and other diagnostic tests as further encouragement for them to practice good health maintenance.
Following the conversation about healthy breast maintenance and awareness (and the demonstration of the exam), why not make a pact with your daughter to conduct monthly self-exams? It is important to tell her not to perform the exam right before she begins to menstruate or during the early part of her period. Hormones at these times cause the breasts to be more sensitive and to thicken. The best times to perform the exams are in the middle of her period or right after it.
It cannot be stressed enough that early detection is critical to successful treatment of breast cancer. The earlier breast cancer is caught, the less aggressive the treatment has to be, making the prognosis much more positive for the patient. Teach your daughter early about the important role breast self-examinations and awareness play in her health as an adult, and she will carry those lessons with her into the future, where they just might save her life.
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