Tamika Weaver was only 27 when she found a lump in her breast. Now a breast cancer survivor, she says it was pure chance that she found her lump. “Now I urge all young women to do monthly self-checks,” says Weaver.

According to Dr. Amanda May, an oncologist with the MCG Cancer Center, breast exams are an important habit that women in their 20s should begin cultivating. “No one knows your breasts as well as you do,” she says. “Monthly breast self-exams help you to become familiar with your body so if there is a change, you will know it and be able to bring it to the attention of your physician.”

Signs and symptoms that may cause concern include: a lump or swelling, skin irritation or dimpling, nipple pain or retraction, redness or scaliness of the nipple or breast skin, or a discharge other than breast milk.

Dr. Amanda May and the MCG Cancer Center offer the following guidelines for women and breast health:

• Beginning at age 20, women should conduct monthly breast self-exams and receive clinical breast exams every three years. Consult your physician to learn the appropriate way to conduct a breast self-exam.
• Beginning at age 40, women should begin receiving clinical breast exams and mammograms yearly. Monthly self-checks should continue. 
• Women with a family history of breast cancer should consult their physicians about the benefits of starting mammograms at a younger age or having more frequent clinical breast exams.

“Remember, it’s important to do monthly self-checks and other appropriate testing because finding breast cancer early can save your life,” says May.

MCG Health System is composed of three separate organizations -- MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. The physicians of MCG Health System are community physicians and faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group, not employees of MCG Health Inc. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Medical Center, MCG Children’s Medical Center, the MCG Sports Medicine Center, MCG Ambulatory Care Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by providing an environment for faculty employees of the Medical College of Georgia and the Physicians Practice Group and community physicians to deliver the highest level of primary and specialty health care. For more information, please visit www.MCGHealth.org.