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Healthy Boobs, Healthy Life: How to Do a Self Check

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Harvard chapter.

If you have boobs, you should be checking them at least once a month for abnormalities and changes in appearance, in addition to regular check ups. It may sound like a lot of work, but self checkā€™s have proven effective in helping catch breast cancer early, and it is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Look

Stand in front of a mirror with your arms first at your sides and then raised. Inspect your breasts for any lumps, dimples, swelling, fluid leaking from one or both nipples, discoloration, or any other changes in appearance.

2.Ā Feel

Feel the breast and armpit area in a circular motion with the your fingertips for lumps, knots, and any other abnormalities. You should check both breasts both while standing up and lying down, as you may be able to more easily detect an abnormality in one position than the other. Try using different pressures with your finger tips and squeezing each nipple to check for any leaking.

3. Report

Be sure to bring any abnormalities up to your doctor. Even if you do not find any abnormalities, it is a good idea to get checked by a doctor regularly as well since. Though forty percent of the cases in which breast cancers gets detected are through self-checks, the other sixty percent still rely on doctors.

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Audrey Thorne

Harvard '19

Audrey is a Senior in Pforzheimer house. She likes writing, adventure, Tatte, and doing things ironically it's no longer ironic. She's also Co-Campus Coordinator of the Her Campus Harvard branch.
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