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3 www.centrastate.com Fall 2015 Breast Self-Exam: A Step-by-Step Guide WHEN TO PERFORM A BREAST SELF-EXAM: A breast self-exam (BSE) requires only a few minutes of your time each month to perform. The best time of the month to do it is seven to 10 days after the start of your menstrual cycle. For women who no longer menstruate, it is recommended that you choose the same day each month to perform your BSE. LOOK FOR CHANGES With your arms at your sides, look in a mirror for changes in your breasts—lumps, thickenings, dimples or changes in the skin texture or appearance. Next, raise your arms above or behind your head, again looking for changes. Then, with your hands on your hips, press down and tense your chest muscles. This will make any changes more prominent. It may be helpful to lean forward just a bit from the waist so your breasts are not lying on the chest wall. FEEL FOR CHANGES Research suggests that the most thorough technique for performing a BSE is the "vertical method," in which the fingertips move up and down each breast in column fashion from one side of the breast to the other. However, the best method ultimately is the one you are most comfortable using. When you are lying on your back, the breast tissue spreads more evenly over the chest wall and is as thin as possible, making it much easier to feel all of the breast tissue. Once you are lying on your back and are comfortable, place your right arm behind your head. • Place a pillow or rolled towel under your right shoulder. • Use the pads of the index, middle and ring fingers on your left hand to feel for lumps in the right breast. • Use overlapping, dime-sized, circular motions of the finger pads to feel the breast tissue. • Feel a small portion of the breast at a time, until the entire breast has been checked. • Use three different levels of pressure to feel all of the breast tissue: 1. Light pressure to feel the tissue closest to the skin; 2. Medium pressure to feel a little deeper; and 3. Firm pressure to feel the tissue closest to the chest and ribs. If you are not sure how hard to press, talk with your health care provider. Use each pressure level in each spot before moving to the next area. Be sure to check the entire breast area going down until you feel only ribs and going up to your neck or collarbone. • Repeat the exam on your left breast with your right hand. If you find a change that concerns you, call your health care provider promptly. The newly remodeled Star and Barry Tobias Women's Health Center is a special place for women—combining technical expertise and customized health education and counseling services. The comfortable, private environment at the Women's Health Center helps ease anxiety women may have when dealing with their health, and uncertainties regarding mammograms and diagnostic procedures for detecting early signs of breast cancer. The Women's Health Center is one of the few select imaging facilities in New Jersey to receive the Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR) designation in mammography. The Women's Health Center at CentraState provides the following breast health services for women: breast needle localization, cryoablation, 3D mammography, stereotactic needle biopsy (STNB), and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy. To make an appointment at the Star and Barry Tobias Women's Health Center, call 732-294-2778. THE STAR AND BARRY TOBIAS WOMEN'S HEALTH CENTER Special Spa Gift Receive $50 off a regularly priced, one-hour massage or facial at Hand & Stone Spa in Howell when you get a mammogram. Visit www.centrastate.com/womenshealth for details.