The 3-Step Self-Breast Exam: Know Your Baseline

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Oct 9

2 min read

Author: Dr. Devin Cooper, MD, FACOG

While formal imaging like mammography remains the gold standard for early detection, regular self-awareness plays an essential supporting role. Performing a self-exam regularly helps you become familiar with how your breasts normally look and feel—making it much easier to detect subtle changes early on.

The Recommended 3-Step Routine

Step 1: Visual Check in the Mirror

Stand comfortably in front of a mirror with your shoulders straight and arms on your hips. Look carefully at both breasts for:

Differences in size, shape, or symmetry.
Skin dimpling, puckering, or redness.
Changes in nipple orientation or shape.

Next, raise your arms high overhead and look for the same features as your breast tissue elevates.

Step 2: Physical Exam in the Shower

Lathering your skin with soap makes it much easier to feel underlying tissue smoothly.

Use the flat pads of your three middle fingers (not the fingertips).
Move in small, circular overlapping motions about the size of a coin.
Cover the entire area from your collarbone down to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit across to your breastbone.
Apply light pressure for skin-level tissue, medium pressure for deeper tissue, and firm pressure to feel down to the rib cage.

Step 3: Physical Exam Lying Down

When you lie flat, your breast tissue spreads evenly across your chest wall, making it easier to examine deeper layers.

Place a pillow under your right shoulder and put your right arm behind your head.
Use your left hand to check your right breast using the same overlapping circular motions.
Be sure to check the axillary tail—the tissue extending up into your armpit.
Repeat the process on your left side.

Ideal Timing

If you menstruate, the best time to perform a self-exam is 3 to 5 days after your period ends, when hormonal swelling and tenderness are at their lowest. If you no longer menstruate, pick a memorable calendar day (such as the 1st of every month) to stay consistent.