To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: For Breast Self-Examination, Once A Month Is Quite Enough URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/EEDDE.htm Doctor's Guide March 22, 1999
LONDON, ENGLAND -- March 22, 1999 -- Too much breast self-examination can be counterproductive for women with a family history of breast cancer, according to a team of British scientists. Not that monthly breast self-examination isn't an effective way of detecting early symptoms of breast cancer for women with a family history of the disease. More than 90 percent of breast cancers are found by women themselves, some studies show. But examining one's breasts every week or every day does not improve detection of symptoms. It may in fact reduce the efficacy of the procedure, according to a report in this month's issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. "Women who over-examine may be substituting frequent yet cursory self-examinations for thorough and effective ones," said Kate Brain, Ph.D., of the University of Wales College of Medicine, who led the research team. "Excessively frequent self-examination can also make early detection of breast cancer symptoms more difficult by increasing the likelihood of false-positive findings." The researchers, who also included Sheffield University psychologists, surveyed 833 women who have family histories of breast cancer. About 18 percent said they examine themselves for breast cancer daily or weekly. Fifty-six percent reported that they follow the recommended frequency of once or twice a month. At the low end of the spectrum were 26 percent of the at-risk women who rarely or never examine themselves. Some earlier studies suggested that those who rarely examined their breasts were hindered by fears and anxieties. However, the Wales/Sheffield scientists found that cancer-specific anxiety was lowest among the women who examined themselves least often and highest among those who examined themselves most often. High general anxiety was found only among the hyper-vigilant women who examined themselves daily or weekly. Current health promotion efforts seek mostly to alert and motivate at-risk women at the low end of the self-examination scale. For the high-end self-examiners, these programs need to be broadened to include the message that daily or weekly examinations may not improve cancer detection, the researchers said. "A delicate balance needs to be achieved between managing anxiety and maintaining optimal adherence to breast self-examination," they conclude. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.