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Women should perform a self-breast exam every month — true or false?

For Dr. Katy Sanderson, OB/GYN at Virginia Physicians for Women, the answer is true.

While some professional medical organizations caution that self-exams can lead to increased anxiety, Dr. Sanderson says it's important for women to know how to perform a self-exam since they’re so effective in early detection.

How effective? In women under 50, up to 71% of breast cancers are detected during a self-exam. In women over 50, 50% of cancers are detected this way.

See this Q+A to find out what else Dr. Sanderson has to say about self-breast exams, including:

How do I do a self-breast exam?
What does breast cancer feel like?
What if I find a lump in my breast?
Do I still need a mammogram if I don't notice any abnormalities?
How often should I schedule a mammogram?

See the full Q+A