Do you examine your breasts monthly for a lump or other change that might suggest cancer? If you haven't, it's time you acquired the most important health habit of your life.

-Breast cancer is the number one cancer killer of American women.

-Breast cancers can be discovered most easily and early by women themselves.

You should inspect your breasts every month, about a week after the start of your menstrual period. This is when they are least swollen and easiest to examine. If you are no longer menstruating, choose any day of the month that is convenient. But be sure to check yourself on that day every month.

Of course you should still see your doctor every year. But since breast cancers can develop within a short period of time, your own monthly examination is still your best defense.

Many women who know about breast self-examination and its benefits still do not do it. Some say they do not feel confident enough about doing the examination right. Others feel it would make them worry needlessly. Both these excuses are silly. After a few months of regular examination, you will become familiar with the contours of your breasts. And you will know exactly what is normal for you. In the meantime, any questions you have can, be easily answered by your doctor. As for worry, remember: the very purpose of breast self-examination is to relieve you from ever having to worry again. Each month you'll know that nothing is wrong. And if you should find a questionable development ...don t be frightened. Just go to your doctor and find out for certain.

Not all swellings or changes are cancerous. In fact, most are not.

-Menstruation or hormonal imbalance can commonly cause swellings that are not true lumps. They are normal, and just as they appear, they may disappear without a trace.

-If your breasts are larger than average, you may feel a thickening underneath, in the shape of a half-moon. This is normal supportive tissue developed by the body. Consult your physician if you have any questions.

-Thin women often have prominent ribs. Can you feel yours' You can identify them by their connection to the breast bone. Ribs are sometimes mistaken for swellings.

-Even lumps that are true lumps are usually not malignant. 65-80% of all breast biopsies prove benign (not cancerous).

-Some women have breasts that are naturally lumpy or nodular. Such breasts are difficult for women to examine themselves. They may do better leaving it to their doctors, who know the landmarks of the breast and can determine what is abnormal. Talk it over with your doctor if your breasts are of this kind.

-No woman has two breasts that are exactly alike. So don’t be alarmed if you find differences.

-Being injured or struck in the breast will not increase your chances of developing breast cancer.

However, if other women in your family have had breast cancer ... or if you have a history of cysts in the breast, it's true that your chances are greater. All the more reason for examining yourself regularly as described here!

1. Let your arms hang relaxed at your sides. Now carefully inspecting your breasts both from the front and sides, look for:

1. distinct changes in size or shape since your last examination

2. Next, stretch your arms overhead, and repeat the same examination.

3. With your elbows turned outward, push the heel of one hand hard into the palm of the other. This will tense your chest muscles and make any changes such as dimpling or thickening stand out.

4. Finally, squeeze each nipple and the area around the nipple, and note whether there is any discharge. If there is, or if any other findings strike you as unusual, don't wait! See your doctor.

1. To start with your left breast, place a pillow or folded towel under your left shoulder. Now place your left hand underneath your head.

2. With your right hand, feel for unusual lumps or masses. Using the flat of your fingers, not the tips, press gently at the very top of your breast. Now continue feeling with your fingers in a clockwise motion around the outside of your breast, until you've returned to where you started.

3. Next, move your fingers about one inch toward the nipple. Trace another circle, pressing gently as you go. Do this at least twice more, moving always closer to the nipple. Finally, feel the nipple area too.

4. Repeat the procedure on your right breast, pillow under right shoulder, right hand under head.

Again, if you find any suspicious lump or thickening, don't be alarmed. But do visit your doctor and let him make the diagnosis.