This position flattens the breast and makes it easier to examine. Use the same circular motion described earlier. Repeat on your right breast. You might want to try both positions - standing or lying down, to see which is more comfortable for you. However, the most important choice is the decision to do Breast Self-Examination each month.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American women.
This year in the United States approximately 111,000 women will learn that they have breast cancer. No one knows exactly what causes breast cancer, so there is little anyone can do to prevent it. But it is known that breast cancer is most treatable and curable when the tumor is small. Also, treatment may be more limited and less disfiguring if the cancer is found when it is confined to a small area of the breast. For these reasons, cancer research scientists have long looked for methods of detecting or finding breast cancer early in its growth before it has had a chance to spread to other parts of the body.