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Patient
Education for Breast Examination
Prepare the patient for the examination by explaining
that you will be examining her breasts both when she is sitting
up and when she is lying on her back. If the patient is lactating,
she should be instructed to empty her breasts before the examination.
The patient should be encouraged to examine her
breasts just after her menstrual period each month. If she has
not been doing this, the breast examination is a good time to
remind her how important it is to be familiar with her breast
tissue so that she can identify changes over time. Most organizations
suggest that a woman perform breast self-examination every month
after the age of 40, or earlier if she has a first-degree relative
with premenopausal breast cancer. Click
here for more information about breast self-examination.
Medical
Record
The breast examination should be clearly documented in the chart.
Use a quick sketch of the breasts to detail presence or absence of
nodularity, masses, symmetry, lymph nodes, discharge, and skin changes.
Describe the characteristics of any abnormalities found: the size
in centimeters, the shape (regular or irregular), the consistency
(firm, hard, soft), and the mobility (mobile, fixed).
Diagram for record and comparison. From Wallis LA, editor:
Modern breast and pelvic examinations: a handbook for
health professionals, New York, 1996, National Council
On Women's Health, Inc.
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Note: women's health
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