SEATTLE — Breast cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer death among women, according to the American Cancer Society.
Part of the awareness is what women should look out for, in between their screenings at the doctor's office. Namely, the self-breast exam.
The self-breast exam can be helpful, but it should not be the only screening method for breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society does not recommend clinical and self-breast self-exams as a primary screening method or as a routine part of the screening schedule. But they do recommend it to raise breast awareness.
Doctors said it's a good way to be aware of any red flags.
"First of all, I would want women to pick a set time every month to do their self-exam," said Dr. Eileen Consorti, a breast surgeon and medical director of Overlake Cancer Center.
She said pre-menopausal women should try to do self-breast exams a week after finishing their period to avoid checking while the body is going through hormonal changes, which could cause normal, benign breast conditions.
"Such as breast cysts; fibroadenomas, which are the most common types of benign breast conditions," Consorti said.
But there are potential warning signs of breast cancer to look out for.
"If they can visually see a dimpling in their breast, any nipple crusting, a mass, of course, if you feel a lesion, if you see an increase in breast veins in your breast, also, if your breasts start looking like an orange peel, you need to contact your primary care and get in to see a breast surgeon," Consorti said.
Some lumps, however, do not indicate cancer and should be followed up with a doctor's appointment.
"Absolutely. Your doctor would order breast imaging for follow-up in terms of diagnostic mammograms, ultrasounds, to try to figure out what the heck that lump is," Consorti said.
Consorti points out, that there are also methods to detect genetic risk.
This summer, Overlake Medical Center launched its High-risk Cancer Surveillance Clinic that offers genetic testing to detect certain types of hereditary cancers. Testing for breast cancer is one of them.
What to look out for in breast self-exam: HealthLink
The self-exam should not be a primary method of screening for breast cancer, but it helps familiarize women with any potential red flags.