Breast Exam
Breast examination (either clinical breast exams (CBE) by a health care provider or by self exams) were once widely recommended. They however are not supported by evidence and may, like mammography and other screening methods that produce false positive results, contribute to harm. The use of screening in women without symptoms and at low risk is thus controversial.
A 2003 Cochrane review found screening by breast self-examination or by clinical exam is not associated with lower death rates among women who report performing breast self-examination and does, like other breast cancer screening methods, increase harms, in terms of increased numbers of benign lesions identified and an increased number of biopsies performed. They conclude "screening by breast self-examination or physical examination cannot be recommended."
Read more about this topic: Breast Cancer Screening
Famous quotes containing the words breast and/or exam:
“His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow to some Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellations reign
His stars eternally.”
—Thomas Hardy (1840–1928)
“I know that if I’d had to go and take an exam for acting, I wouldn’t have got anywhere. You don’t take exams for acting, you take your courage.”
—Dame Edith Evans (1888–1976)