The Real Focus of Self-Exams
W h a t y o u s h o u l d b e l o o k i n g f o r e a c h m o n t h .
time that you should do monthly
self-exams to look for lumps. But
that’s only part of the story, says
Dr. John Russ, a hoard-certified
O B -G Y N in Colum bus, Ohio. “It’s
wrong for women just to feel for
lumps,” he says. “We have to teach
them to look for differences.”
Women should look for some
kind of change in the appearance
or feel in the breast, says Dr.
Fredika Robertson, a professor of
experimental therapeutics at the
University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center in Houston. Examples:
an inverted nipple or breasts that
suddenlv become different sizes.
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t
One of the greatest concerns to
Robertson is inflammatory breast
cancer (IB C ), a type of breast cancer
undetectable by a mammogram,
w hich can strike women who are
younger than 40, the standard age
at w hich annual exams are
recommended. This type of cancer
afflicts about five percent of women
diagnosed with the disease. “It’s one
of the most aggressive and lethal
breast cancers,” says Robertson. IB C
can initially look like a mosquito bite
or rash on the breast, not as a lump
inside it. It can also manifest a
symptom called pcau d’orangc, a
skin texture that resembles the
dim pling of an orange.
The timing of monthly self-checks
is critical. Don’t perform the exam
the few days before a menstrual
cycle, since the breasts tend to be
swollen and tender then. “False-
positives occur more often just
before the period,” says Russ. The
ideal time is when breast discomfort
related to a menstrual cycle has gone.
For a tutorial on self-exams, go to
kom en.org.
—TAMI KAMIN-MEYER
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS OCTOBER 2008
2 3 7
Energizer is proud
to support
m J uiionc Komrn
t
race
^ c u r e
Just purchase a pack of
Energizer MAX
batteries this October,
and fifty cents will
automatically be donated’
in the fight against
breast cancer.
It’s our way of making sure
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Power
K e e p G o in g
--------
E n e r g iz e r
j r .
