An OB/GYN Shares 4 Steps to Conduct a Breast Self-Exam At Home

Dr. Kameelah Phillips discusses the importance of knowing your body and how to detect any changes in your breasts.

Ariel Meredith and Ashley Graham / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated and Josie Clough/Sports Illustrated

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes. Aside from skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common skin cancer among women. For more information and ways to support, click here.

When it comes to breast cancer, early detection can be a life-saving measure. While annual clinical exams, like mammograms, are key to prioritizing your breast health, conducting regular breast self-exams at home is another way to stay on top of your well-being.

We recently sat down with Dr. Kameelah Phillips, a board certified New York City-based OBGYN and the founder of Calla Women’s Health, to learn exactly how to conduct an at-home breast self-exam.

How to conduct an at-home breast self-exam

Dr. Phillips, who has a degree in human biology with an emphasis in women’s health and human sexuality from Stanford University, is a proud wife and mother who attended the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. She opened her own practice in 2020, and specializes in women’s health, sexual medicine and menopause.

She understands that many women find breast self-exams to be intimidating, but urges her patients to remove the anxiety from the process. Rather than worrying about performing the exam exactly as your physician would, simply know what is normal for you and your breasts.

Cover the entire breast

Dr. Phillips notes that the most important part of a breast self-exam is to cover the entire area, no matter the technique you use. While some women use an up and down motion with their hands, others prefer a circular pattern while checking for any physical changes.

“The most important thing is that you cover your entire breast from your armpit to the sternum, which is like the middle of your chest, from your collarbone down to the bottom of your breast,” Dr. Phillips says. “Doesn't matter how you do it to me. Just make sure that you attempt to cover your whole breast.”

Take your time

Don’t rush the process, Dr. Phillips urges, particularly if you have larger breasts. Take your time and conduct your exam wherever you’re most comfortable, whether that’s standing in front of a mirror or laying down.

“Don’t rush it,” she says. “You [can] do it in your bed before you go to bed or do it while you’re in the shower, but just make sure that you cover the entire breast and don’t neglect parts just because ‘Oh, this is taking too long,’ or ‘Oh, my breasts are too big,’ or anything like that.”

Know what to look for

While conducting your breast self-exam, there are a few obvious things to look for, like lumps or bumps. However, there are a number of other things women should observe and take note of, according to Dr. Phillips, including:

• Any physical changes in your breasts or nipples
• Nipple discharge
• Swelling or dimpling of the skin

“It’s not only about the touch and feel, it’s about the appearance of the breasts, too,” Dr. Phillips notes. “So if you really notice something is tugging, or swelling, or retracting, or scaling, I would report that.”

Call your doctor ASAP

If you spot any of the above, or anything else that’s simply out of the ordinary for you and your breasts, Dr. Phillips urges women to call their doctor as soon as possible. Whether or not they turn out to be symptoms of breast cancer, she says that the practice is a great habit to get into when it comes to managing and taking charge of your health.

“It’s a really healthy exercise in you acknowledging a change in your body, actively seeking answers about it, getting a positive resolution and then moving on with your life,” she notes. “And I think that that sets just really good habits of how you manage your health: Something’s wrong, I address it. It turns out to be something, I fix it. It turns out to be nothing, I move on with life. And it just becomes like a routine of ‘This is how I take care of myself.’”

And if those symptoms do lead to an eventual breast cancer diagnosis, the early detection may just save your life.

“It seems so cliché, but I don’t think people get how important early detection is,” Dr. Phillips says. “It literally can be life-changing. It is the difference between maybe like a surgical procedure versus a surgical procedure and radiation and chemotherapy. It really can change your outcome and your course and intensity of that course of treatment. I just can’t [overstate] how important early detection is.”

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