Ellyn Davidson’s Weblog

My cousin and my brother both forwarded some disturbing press to me this week.  Seems that now the jury is out on whether or not women should do breast self-exams.  They go on to say that they could actually cause more harm–unnecessary biopsies, stress, anxiety, scarring.  Yes.  Many biopsies come back benign–that’s a good thing.  But some, like mine, don’t.  I think the research is pretty wishy washy and actually somewhat ridiculous.  Younger women have dense breasts.   Mammograms do a really mediocre job of finding lumps in dense breasts.  I could feel my lump and the mammogram still saw nothing.  So how can they say that breast self-exams are not necessary?  My message to you is don’t listen to this research.  Continue to do breast self-exams, and if you don’talready do them, start.  If you are unsure of something, get it checked.  Take a look at the St. John Hospital spot, Cancer Opera, that prompted me to find my lump.  It might just motivate you.