Then, in 2015, the American Cancer Society (ACS) deemed these self-exams superfluous in terms of increasing overall breast cancer survival rates and even raised concern over unnecessary biopsies that ensued when women would find their own lumps and bumps. That’s why that year, the ACS announced that it no longer recommends breast self-exams as a screening tool for those women at average risk of developing breast cancer.
Breast Awareness and Knowing Your Normal
So where does this leave us seven years later? The answer is that experts want individuals to shift the focus from breast “self-exam” to breast “self-awareness.” “Years ago, what we found was that many women were concerned about technique when they practiced self-exams,” says Spring Piatek, an advanced practice nurse at the Northwestern Medicine High Risk Breast Clinic in Winfield, Illinois. “They were concerned about subtle lumps or bumps which were normal breast tissue. They would raise concerns with provider and there would be a lot of unnecessary exams, visits, and calls.” Instead, healthcare professionals are committed to demystifying the breast self-exam. In short, their message remains: Know your body. While looking in the mirror, zero in on any changes in the size or shape or either breast and look for any changes that may have occurred in the appearance of the skin on your breasts. “For example, is there a rash or redness that’s not going away or is there any skin thickening,” Piatek says. “If you lift your arms up, is there any dimpling of your breast tissue, swelling around your collarbone or under your arm?” Ultimately, the goal is to build awareness without adding additional stress, says Deanna J. Attai, MD, associate clinical professor in the department of surgery at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in Los Angeles and UCLA Health Burbank Breast Care. “I tell patients now that we no longer scold you for not doing monthly self-exams anymore,” Dr. Attai says. “We want women to have a general idea of what’s normal for them and to be aware that breast cancer doesn’t always present as a lump. It can be a sudden swelling, a redness of the skin that doesn’t go away with antibiotics, blood from the nipple or a retraction or dimpling that can be a potential sign of an underlying cancer.” “There’s no harm in doing self-exams, but we want to make it simple,” Piatek says. “And we definitely don’t want women to dread doing this or feel ashamed if they forget.”
