Breast Care: Simple Self Examination Steps

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The latest study report on breast cancer states that one in twenty-eight Indian Women is likely to develop the breast cancer during her lifetime.

Breast Cancer occurs in the epithelium(lining cells of the ducts) 85% or in the lobules 15%(glandular tissue of the breasts). Initially, the cancerous growth is confined into the duct or lobule where it generally causes no symptoms or has fewer chances of spreading.

Regular self-examination of breasts can help early detection of abnormalities and thus makes the treatment easier. Though all the lumps and abnormalities do not develop into breast cancers still one should report any changes to the doctor.

What is Self-examination of breasts?

A breast self-exam is a method of checking the breasts through manual or visual inspection to detect any abnormalities, irritation, changes in size, or discoloration of breasts that can potentially lead to breast cancer.

Every woman should perform a self-check of breasts once a month. The menstruating woman can perform the exam after periods. This is considered a good time as the breasts are not tender and lumpy at this time of the monthly cycle. The ones who have stopped menstruating or have irregular periods can pick a particular day of the month to do the self-exam. It can be the start of the month, end of the month, or simply any date that can be easily remembered.

A breast self-exam is an easy procedure and it hardly takes a few minutes and thus can be done while undressing at night, taking a shower, or lying in bed.

How to perform the exam?

There are a couple of easy ways to self-examine the breasts – Visual inspection and Manual inspection.

Visual Breast Examination

With your clothes and bra removed stand in front of the mirror. Stand straight with both your arms down now closely look for any visible changes in the size of the breast, discoloration of nipples, breast swelling, or dimpling

Secondly, raise your arms high overhead and detect a similar change.

Third, Place both the hands on your hips and press firmly until the chest muscles flex. Look for similar changes again in both the breasts.

Manual Breast Examination

Manual inspection is a comparatively effective way to conduct self-check. With your clothes and bra removed use your right hand to check your left breast and vice versa. Use the pads of your three fingers to press on every part of one breast changes the pressure from the light, medium to firm. Feel any thick spots, lumps, and other changes. Move your fingers clockwise around the breast now gently press the tissue under the arms to look for any changes there. After this squeeze, the nipples gently check the discharge and notice any discoloration around them.

Repeat the same steps for another breast.

When to see a doctor?

Post conducting the self-examination of breasts if you notice any of the below-mentioned changes immediately report to your doctor –

Changes in look, size, and color of the breasts

Changes in look, size, and color of the nipples.

Dark-colored patches around the breasts or nipples.

Thick spot, hard knot, or lump on breast tissue.

Pain in some parts of the breast tissue.

Rashes on nipples or breasts

Swelling on one or both the breasts.

Inward pulling of the nipple or other areas.

A regular monthly self-examination of breasts can detect any possible problem at an early stage and thus makes the treatment easier and effective. Though self-examinations are important, these should not replace screening tests such as ultrasounds and mammograms recommended by doctors. Also, regular visits to the gynecologist is always a good practice.

Also Read: How these Celebrities Braved Breast Cancer

To read more on women’s health, click here.

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Do you know that women account for as much as 89.5% of the labour force in rural India in the agriculture and allied industrial sectors? Or that 47% of India’s women aged 20–24 were married before the legal age of 18 as per UNICEF’s ‘State of the World’s Children-2009’ report?

In a country where female infanticide is still prevalent in some rural parts, this story is nothing less than a knight in shining armour. Writing this was joy and inspiration, and I wish it leaves the same emotions to you.

Meet the five iconic women of rural India who changed the entire roop rekha of their village with their sheer determination and hard work and inspired and empowered thousands of others!

Sushila Koli

This gritty woman brought a revolution in the field of education when she decided to open her own anganwadi after finding no schools and centres educating kids in her village in the Kolhapur district of Maharashtra.

She started teaching them from her own home and later shifted to a temple when the number of kids increased. But this journey was not so easy as she had to struggle hard and convince villagers to send their kids to study.

But she did it. And she did it for eleven long years until the government noticed her good deed and decided to open an anganwadi, Balwadi Vidya Mandir, there.

“The kids belonged to low-income families, and there was no question of charging them any fees. Sometimes the parents would give me food grains, but I never expected any money,” Sushila has taught more than 250 kids without charging a single penny in all these years.

Godavari Satpute

The ‘Woman Entrepreneur of the Year’ awardee of 2013 is the founder of ‘Godavari Akashkandil’ which is a paper lamp manufacturing business founded in 2009.

What she started with a meagre amount of loan taken from her relatives is now employing and empowering several other women in rural areas and helping them in becoming financially independent. Her company crossed the annual turnover of over INR 30 lakh in the year 2013.

Sobita Tamuli

This resident of Telana village from Assam is the brain behind Seuji, which is an all-women self-help group that makes traditional Assamese japis, manufactures organic manure, and sells them.

They sell Kesuhaar, organic manure, which contains natural elements like cow dung, banana plant remains, earthworms, and fallen leaves for Rs 50 per packet (weighing 5 kg each). Japis are traditional conical, wide-rimmed Assamese hats which Seuji makes as per an individual’s or an organisation’s request. They also sell them in neighbouring markets.

Anita Gupta

The founder of Bhojpur Mahila Kala Kendra, Anita Gupta hails from the Arrah of Bihar and is a recipient of an award from the Government of Bihar. Her NGO, which was established in 1993, has trained more than 25,000 women in nearly 400 skills and has formed around 300 women self-help groups in Bihar.

Her NGO received support from Tata Institute of Social Sciences and DC Handicrafts, Government of India in 2000. Anita is also a member of USHA Silai School in Jharkhand and Bihar, where she trains women in sewing.

Chetna Sinha

Ever wondered of a bank that provides loans of amounts as low as INR 15 to rural women? Mumbai based Chetna Gala Sinha started this unique revolutionary bank back in 1997 when she realised that financial aid was indeed the best possible way to empower women in rural India.

The Mann Deshi Bank originated from the town of Mhaswad in Satara district of Maharashtra, expanded to eight branches and empowered more than 3,00,000 women through 140 field facilitators. The bank offers loans for one day to five years, for the smallest amount you can think of, and EMI repayments for amounts like INR 15.

“Looking at the success, we plan to take this model all across the country and want to impact 1 million women entrepreneurs by 2022. All we need is patience and courage for that,” Chetna adds.

October 15 is marked as the International Day of Rural Women across the world. As per the United Nations, rural women — a quarter of the world’s population — work as farmers, wage earners, and entrepreneurs. And if women in rural areas had the same access to agricultural assets, education, and markets as men, agricultural production could be increased, and the number of hungry people reduced by 100-150 million. #InfanoWomen