Breast Self-Examination: The Right Technique and What to Look For
Female doctor stressing the importance of breast health awareness, advocating regular screening, early detection, and preventative care for women's health.
Breast self-examination (BSE) is not a substitute for clinical breast examination or mammography. But as a monthly habit, it is the most practical tool a woman has for detecting new changes in her own breasts — changes that she, knowing her own normal, is uniquely positioned to notice.
Most breast lumps are found by women themselves, not by healthcare professionals during examinations. The difference between finding a lump early and finding one late often comes down to whether a woman was examining herself regularly.
Dr. Shachi Singh, consultant gynaecologist at Prakash Hospital, Sector 33, Noida, explains the correct technique and what to report.
When to Examine
For premenopausal women: 7 to 10 days after the first day of your period — when the breasts are least hormonally influenced and typically least tender.
For postmenopausal women and pregnant/breastfeeding women: the same day each month — choose a date that is easy to remember.
The Examination: Two Components
1. Visual Inspection
Stand in front of a mirror with adequate lighting.
- Arms at your sides: look at both breasts for symmetry, contour changes, skin changes, nipple changes
- Arms raised above your head: the same inspection with the breasts lifted
- Hands on hips, pressing firmly (to contract the chest muscles): looking specifically for dimpling or puckering of the skin
What to look for visually:
- Any change in size or shape from your normal (one breast being slightly larger than the other is normal if it has always been that way)
- Skin dimpling, puckering, or an orange-peel texture (peau d'orange) — the skin looks dimpled like an orange skin
- Redness, rash, or skin changes
- Nipple inversion that is new (nipple that has turned inward when it was previously outward)
- Nipple discharge, particularly bloodstained
2. Physical Examination
Lying down and standing in the shower are both effective.
Lying down: Place a pillow under your right shoulder. Raise your right arm above your head. Using the flat pads of your left hand's three middle fingers, make small circular movements in a systematic pattern covering the entire breast — from the armpit across to the sternum (breastbone), and from the collarbone down to the ribs. Use three pressure levels: light pressure (for superficial tissue), medium pressure (for middle tissue), and firm pressure (deep tissue near the ribs). Use a systematic vertical strip pattern — working up and down from the armpit to the sternum in columns — to ensure complete coverage. Repeat for the left breast.
Standing/in the shower: Soapy skin makes it easier for fingers to glide. Same systematic technique as above.
The axilla (armpit): Feel in each armpit for any lumps or enlarged lymph nodes. Lower your arm to your side and then feel with your other hand in the armpit.
The nipple: Gently squeeze each nipple between thumb and forefinger. Note any discharge.
What Normal Feels Like
Normal breast tissue is not uniform — it typically has areas of lumpiness or nodularity, particularly in the week before a period. Getting to know what is normal for your own breasts through regular examination means you will recognise when something has changed.
What Always Needs Medical Attention — Without Waiting
- A new discrete lump or thickening — particularly if it is firm, has irregular edges, or feels different from the surrounding tissue
- A lump that does not change with the menstrual cycle (a dominant persistent lump)
- Skin dimpling or puckering — the classic sign of a tumour pulling on the overlying skin
- Nipple inversion that is new
- Bloodstained or unilateral nipple discharge
- Persistent pain in a specific location (not generalised cyclical breast tenderness)
- Any change in the skin — redness, rash, peau d'orange texture
- A lump in the axilla (armpit)
Age to start: Begin monthly BSE from age 20.
Additional imaging: Clinical breast examination by a doctor annually from age 30. Mammogram from age 40 (or earlier if high risk — family history, BRCA mutation).
Gynaecological Care in Noida and Greater Noida
Dr. Shachi Singh at Prakash Hospital, Sector 33, Noida, performs clinical breast examination as part of annual well-woman care and coordinates appropriate imaging referral for women across Noida and Greater Noida.
To book a consultation with Dr. Shachi Singh, call: +91 97023 46853
This blog is for informational purposes only. Monthly breast self-examination is not a substitute for clinical examination. Please see Dr. Shachi Singh for annual clinical breast examination.
