A breast self-exam is a simple check you can do at home using your eyes and hands to notice changes in how your breasts look and feel. It takes about 10 minutes and involves two parts: a visual inspection in front of a mirror and a hands-on check using your fingerpads. While the American Cancer Society notes there’s limited evidence that routine self-exams reduce breast cancer deaths in women who also get mammograms, the organization still encourages all women to be familiar with how their breasts normally look and feel and to report any changes right away.
Here’s exactly how to do it, what to look for, and what to do if something feels off.
When to Do Your Self-Exam
Breast tissue changes throughout your menstrual cycle. Hormonal shifts before and during your period can make breasts swollen, tender, or lumpy, which makes it harder to tell what’s normal. The best time to check is the week right after your period ends, when hormonal swelling has subsided and your tissue is at its softest and most uniform. If you no longer menstruate, pick a consistent day each month (the first of the month is easy to remember) and stick with it. Consistency matters more than the exact date because you’re training yourself to recognize what’s normal for you.
Step 1: Visual Inspection in the Mirror
Stand in front of a well-lit mirror, undressed from the waist up. You’ll look at your breasts in three positions, spending about 30 seconds in each:
- Arms at your sides. Look at the overall shape, size, and symmetry. Most people have breasts that are slightly different sizes, and that’s normal. You’re looking for changes from your baseline.
- Arms raised overhead. This stretches the skin and can reveal dimpling or puckering that wasn’t visible before. Check the underside of each breast as well.
- Hands pressing firmly on your hips, leaning slightly forward. This flexes your chest muscles and can make subtle skin changes more obvious.
In each position, look for skin that appears dimpled (like the texture of an orange peel), any areas of redness or flaky skin, visible swelling, or a nipple that has recently pulled inward. Also look for any asymmetry that’s new.
Step 2: Manual Check Lying Down
Lie on your back with a pillow under your right shoulder and your right arm behind your head. This position spreads the breast tissue evenly across your chest wall, making it thinner and easier to feel through. Use the pads of your three middle fingers on your left hand (not your fingertips) to examine your right breast.
Move in small, overlapping circles about the size of a coin. Start at your collarbone and work your way down in vertical strips, moving from your armpit across to your breastbone. This up-and-down striping pattern is the most thorough way to make sure you cover every area. Don’t lift your fingers between circles. Instead, slide them along the skin so you don’t skip any tissue.
At each spot, press at three levels of pressure. Light pressure checks the tissue just beneath the skin. Medium pressure reaches the middle layers. Firm pressure gets down to the tissue closest to your ribs and chest wall. You should be able to feel your ribs with the deepest pressure. Repeat the entire process on the left side, switching the pillow and arm position.
Don’t forget the area between your armpit and your breast, and the armpit itself. Breast tissue extends further than most people realize, reaching up toward the collarbone and into the underarm. Lymph nodes in the armpit area are also important to check.
Step 3: Check Again in the Shower
Many people find it easiest to feel lumps when their skin is wet and soapy, because fingers glide more smoothly. While standing, use the same finger pad technique and three pressure levels. Raise one arm and use the opposite hand to check each breast. This doesn’t replace the lying-down exam but works well as a complement to it, since gravity shifts breast tissue into a different position and can reveal things you didn’t feel while lying flat.
What You’re Looking For
The CDC lists these warning signs of breast cancer:
- A new lump in the breast or underarm area
- Thickening or swelling of part of the breast
- Skin irritation or dimpling, sometimes described as an orange-peel texture
- Redness or flaky skin on the nipple or breast
- Nipple pulling inward or nipple pain
- Nipple discharge other than breast milk, especially if it contains blood
- Any change in breast size or shape
- Pain in any area of the breast that doesn’t go away
It’s worth noting that most breast lumps are not cancer. Roughly 80 to 85 percent of breast lumps turn out to be benign, caused by things like cysts, fibroadenomas, or normal hormonal tissue changes. But you can’t tell the difference by feel alone, so any new or unusual finding deserves a professional evaluation.
What Normal Breast Tissue Feels Like
This is the part that trips people up. Breasts are naturally lumpy and uneven. Glandular tissue often feels firm and rope-like, particularly in the upper outer quadrant near the armpit. Fatty tissue feels softer. The ridge of firm tissue along the bottom curve of each breast is normal. What you’re building over time is a mental map of your own normal. That’s why monthly consistency matters: you’re comparing this month’s exam to last month’s, not to some idealized template.
Concerning lumps tend to feel hard, have irregular edges, and don’t move much when you push on them. But some cancers feel soft or round, so the texture of a lump alone isn’t a reliable way to rule anything out.
What Happens If You Find Something
If you notice a new lump, skin change, or any of the warning signs listed above, the next step is a visit with your healthcare provider. They’ll typically start with a diagnostic mammogram, which differs from a routine screening mammogram because the radiologist is specifically looking at an area of concern and may take additional images. An ultrasound is often done alongside or instead of a mammogram, particularly for younger women with denser breast tissue. The ultrasound uses sound waves to determine whether a lump is solid or fluid-filled, which helps distinguish a simple cyst from something that needs further investigation.
If imaging doesn’t provide a clear answer, or if the lump looks unusual, the next step is usually a biopsy. The most common type is a core needle biopsy, where a needle guided by ultrasound removes a small sample of tissue for lab testing. In some cases, an MRI may be ordered, particularly if your breast tissue is very dense and makes mammogram and ultrasound images harder to interpret. The whole diagnostic process from first appointment to biopsy results typically takes one to three weeks.
Self-Exams and Screening Work Together
The American Cancer Society’s current position is nuanced. The organization does not recommend formal self-exams as part of a routine screening schedule because research hasn’t shown a clear benefit when women are also getting regular mammograms. But the ACS also says this doesn’t mean self-exams should never be done. Some women feel more comfortable doing them regularly, and the practice helps build that baseline familiarity with your own body.
What every major cancer organization agrees on is this: knowing what’s normal for you is valuable. A self-exam is one way to build that awareness. It’s not a substitute for mammograms or clinical exams, but it catches changes between screenings. Many breast cancers are first noticed by the person themselves during routine activities like showering or getting dressed, not during a formal exam at all. The goal is simply to pay attention and act on changes quickly.