Breasts. Beautiful mounds of fatty tissue, ducts and blood vessels strictly created to sustain life. Not to mention, they’re pretty awesome to touch. The trouble with these beauties is that they can, more often than not, also be the cause of some serious grief. According to breastcancer.org, “About 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.” Scary, isn’t it?
It’s extremely important that we take the time to get checked out. Find a gynecologist if you haven’t already and schedule the appointment if you already do. It’s so easy to get so caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle of the grind that you lose track of time and forget to take care of yourself. I’m guilty of this. However, checkups are necessary for early detection of risk of anything critical. I’m all for “saving the tatas.”
Of course, regularly performing at-home breast exams won’t prevent breast cancer but the more familiar you are with your body, the easier it will be to tell when something just isn’t right.
The perfect time to touch your boobs is typically a few days after your period when they aren’t so swollen and tender. There are a few different ways to do a breast exam at home. Standing, in the shower and my personal favorite, while lying down.
It’s easy to remain consistent if you take the time right before bed or when you’re lying down to take a nap. Lay on your back and place one hand behind your shoulder. With your free hand, keep fingers together and place your hand at the top of your breast. You want to go around your breast in small circular motions until you reach your starting point again. Then you move inward, toward the nipple and repeat the steps. Keep going until you reach your nipple. Once you’ve examined your breast, place two fingers over your nipple and push down to feel for anything that shouldn’t be there. Don’t forget to get the area near your armpits too!
Being as app-obsessed as I am, I use the iPhone’s Health app for basic information but l love iPeriod and Eve for the community posts and cool features included on them.
The goal of this is to get us more comfortable with touching our bodies so that we can be first responders when they might be giving us signs that point to serious illness. Discuss anything suspicious you might find with your doctor and go from there. Spread the word, TOUCH YOUR TATAS!
