Cancer Commentary - Caring About Cancer

Breast Self-Exams: Not a good practice?

by Gloria Gamat on July 16th, 2008

According to a new report from the Center for the Advance of Health — breast self-exams do not appear to reduce breast cancer deaths.

Such were the findings that came out from a review of recent studies, thereby trumping the all-time advice to women to self examine their breasts on a regular basis to check for lumps. This report said that the practice has actually did more harm than good:

However, a review of recent studies says there is no evidence that self-exams actually reduce breast cancer deaths.

Instead, the practice may be doing more harm than good, since it led to almost twice as many biopsies that turned up no cancer in women who performed the self-exams, compared to women who did not do the exams.

Jan Peter Kosters, Ph.D., and Peter Gotzsche, Ph.D., of the Nordic Cochrane Centre, conclude in the review:

“At present, screening by breast self-examination or physical examination [by a trained health worker] cannot be recommended.”

Indeed it is tricky what diagnostic tool to pursue in our hope to catch breast cancer (or any other cancer for that matter) at the earliest possible stage. I have always said that getting a second or third opinion always helps in any case that your initial test turn out positive.

This reminds me of a pre-employment medical exam a long time ago. One company that hired me, sent me to one hospital/clinic for a full medical exam.

By the time it was my turn for a chest x-ray, the current x-ray machine has to be pulled out of the radiology room for some emergency trauma case. The technician then had to use a spare machine that has been lying in one dusty corner of the room. (This one detail of course didn’t easily come to mind when I got my x-ray result later — which turned out to have a big white spot (the size of a small child’s fist) in the middle of my chest.) I was told by the doctor that ‘cleared’ my medical exam that I have to go back to my company’s clinic and it’s up to them what to do with me.

I knew something was wrong but the doctor won’t tell me. On my way to the pharma plant (the company who hired me) I couldn’t resist but open the x-ray film that the doctor sealed  in the big brown envelope I was told to bring. Well I was young, out of college and of course scared that what if I have breast or lung tumor? Besides, I never really led a healthy life in college.

I felt I needed to know right away. So I opened the envelope, looked at my x-ray film and saw the ‘hole’ I mentioned above. At the bottom the doctor commented in a few lines: for apico-lordotic view.

I didn’t know what that meant back then (this was 12 years ago!) but I knew I had to be sent for another x-ray appointment. The company doctor gave me a reference letter for another clinic, another x-ray session. The radiologist did an apico lordotic view x-ray (instead of havi ng my back to the machine, this time I am facing it) and it turned out I’ve got a normal, clear lungs from that x-ray film.

The night before that? That was the scariest night of my life. The morning after after I got cleared from the apico-lordotic x-ray…I went ahead to my first day of work as quality control lab analyst in that particular pharma plant.

If now something similar happened again (i hope not, knock on wood!), I won’t let any doctor get away by not telling me the truth about the results of any medical exam or procedure or test.

The moral of this story really is: get a second or third opinion. Not just one test, but if possible 2 or more. For your own good! ;-)

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POSTED IN: Breast cancer, ~ Diagnosing cancer ~