Breast Self Exam: What You Can Do To Optimize Your Breast Health
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Common Myths, Misconceptions, and Misinformation About Breast Self Exam:
It doesn't matter: if you're going to get breast cancer, you're going to get breast cancer. It matters. If you're going to get breast cancer, the earlier you get treated the better.
You only have to do a monthly self exam if you're at increased risk for breast cancer. It's true that you are at increased risk of breast cancer if you have a mother or sister with breast cancer, but eight out of ten women who get breast cancer have no other risk factors than being female. Breast cancer risk does increase with age, so it's more important to do it as you get older. Yet, breast cancer in women under 40-while rare-tends to be a much more aggressive type, so your odds of cure are much greater if detected earlier. If you are a female over age 18, do your monthly BSE.
It doesn't matter when you do your monthly exam, so long as you do it each month. Your breast tissue actually changes in feel according to the stage of your menstrual cycle. It's easiest to get the best exam 5-7 days after your period. If you are post-menopausal and not on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), a good way to remember when to do your exam is at the beginning of a new month. If you are on HRT, but just on estrogen, this is also a good plan. If you are on HRT and still get monthly bleeding, continue to do your BSE 5-7 days after bleeding.
If I tell my doctor I found a breast mass, s/he will have no choice but to do a biopsy. Your physician will first do a clinical breast exam (CBE) and make recommendations based upon that. S/he may recommend a mammogram or an enhanced image mammogram using a new dye called Miraluma. Ultrasound is also a useful tool. If you do need a biopsy, there are now techniques called "minimally invasive biopsy" which can be done right in the radiologist's office under guidance.
If you have lumpy (or "fibrocystic") breasts, you won't be able to tell if there's anything abnormal anyway, so why bother. Get to know your breasts' feel; anything new or unusual will be clear to you and should be reported to your physician.
If you have lumpy (or "fibrocystic") breasts, cutting out caffeine will help. This is only true if you also have painful breasts; cutting out caffeine has not been shown by clinical studies to actually decrease the number or density of benign breast lumps.
If you don't find your breast cancer early by self exam, you've missed the opportunity for cure. You may have missed the opportunity for the most effective cure, but you haven't missed the boat altogether. Don't procrastinate if you find a suspicious lump; call your physician immediately.
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 There are many excellent guides to properly performing a proper BSE. Like anything else, it takes practice. 
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