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Clinical Breast Examination

(continued)

What Affects the Test

Reasons you may not be able to have the test or why the results may not be helpful include:

Your menstrual cycle. The changes in your body that occur during your menstrual cycle may make your breast tissue feel or look different.
Having fibrocystic lumps. Fibrocystic lumps make a clinical breast examination hard to do because many lumps are present in the breast.

What To Think About

If you have breast pain when you have your periods (cyclic breast pain), see the topic Breast Pain (Mastalgia).
A normal clinical breast examination does not mean that breast cancer is not present. Depending on your age and your personal and family history of breast cancer, your health professional may do other tests, such as a mammogram.

Other Works Consulted
American Cancer Society (2009). Prevention and Early Detection: American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer. Atlanta: American Cancer Society. Available online: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/ped_2_3X_ACS_Cancer_Detection_Guidelines_36.asp.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2009). Screening for breast cancer. Available online: http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm.

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	C. Dale Mercer, MD, FRCSC, FACS - General Surgery
Last Revised	March 30, 2010

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WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: March 30, 2010

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.