Breast self-examination

Breast self-examination
A woman examines her breast.
MeSH	D016504
MedlinePlus	001993
[edit on Wikidata]

Breast self-examination (BSE) is a screening method used in an attempt to detect early breast cancer. The method involves the woman herself looking at and feeling each breast for possible lumps, distortions or swelling.

BSE was once promoted heavily as a means of finding cancer at a more curable stage, but large randomized controlled studies found that it was not effective in preventing death, and actually caused harm through needless biopsies, surgery, and anxiety. The World Health Organization and other organizations recommend against BSE. Other organizations take a neutral stance, and do not recommend for or against BSE.

Breast awareness is an informal alternative to breast self-examinations, where women acquaint themselves with their breasts in order to become more aware of any changes in their bodies without practicing regularly scheduled self-examinations and any patient-observed change or abnormality in the breast anatomy are reported to a healthcare team for further evaluation.^[1]