I discovered breast lumps when I was only twenty years old.  I did a self-examination after reading about them in women magazines.  The ironic thing is the plastic surgeon (lucky I was referred to a plastic surgeon) missed out a lump during the operations and I had to re-do the operation.

Few years later, I found another few lumps on my other breasts.  Again, another well-known surgeon missed a lump again!  Shucks, that means I had gone through four breast biopsies when I should be doing twice only.  I should have marked the lumps with a waterproof marker before the doctor put me to sleep. 

This means that we are the best person to feel the breast lumps than our doctors as it is not easy to feel them unless you are familiar with your own body.

So, girls and women  of all age, do examine your breasts monthly, after your period.  You never know when you may get some lumps.  Recent years, one does not need to go through operation to remove the lumps anymore.

I found this helpful animated graphics on breast self-examination which I would like to share :

women should ‘get to know their breasts’ and find out what’s ‘normal’ for them, rather than checking breasts in a regimented and prescriptive fashion.

Your breasts will go through perfectly normal changes throughout your lifetime. They are affected by hormonal changes during your menstrual cycle, pregnancy, breastfeeding, the menopause (change of life) and weight loss or weight gain.

Breast awareness is about becoming familiar with your normal breast tissue and how it changes, for example before or after your period.

See the animated graphic here and read the full article.

Not all breast lumps are cancerous so don’t panic at the first instance.  And no, your male partners aren’t good in examining your breasts.  Like I said, it is not easy to feel which is a lump and which is normal tissues because breasts can feel lumpy just before our period.  So as mentioned earlier,  the best time to do a self-examination is after your period.