Every year, my OB/GYN asks if I've been doing monthly breast self-exams. And every year, I say, "Once in a while," which is also what I say when my hygienist asks if I floss, and is my way of saying, "Never."
Now, it turns out I may have been right to skip that previously recommended self-groping. Scientists from the Cochrane Collaboration - a global panel that examines medical research - recently reported that two independent studies confirmed there was virtually no difference in the number of breast cancer deaths between groups of women who were taught to do breast exams and control groups that weren't.
Even worse for the pro-self-examination camp, however, was the finding that self-examiners were at a higher risk of getting unnecessary procedures - twice as many underwent biopsies that yielded negative results than did women who didn't self-examine. And biopsies and the other tests they may lead to can cause scars, deformities and emotional trauma.
What does this mean? Well, if you believe the benefits of possibly catching a malignant tumor outweigh the risks of unnecessary surgery, then by all means continue to self-examine. After all, about 35% of breast cancer patients discovered their own lumps - although doctors aren't clear whether those women were deliberately self-examining when they found the lump, or whether it was accidental, or noticed because of discomfort, etc. But if you haven't been self-examining and have felt bad about it, don't: Debbie Saslow, of the American Cancer Society, says, "Women who don't want to do breast self-exams shouldn't feel guilty about it."
