VIDEO: Breast self exam class

This past year there’s been conflicting information about whether self breast exams can help or harm women.

But most still agree, when done properly, they can save lives.

So do women really know what they’re looking for?

It’s an exercise in self breast exams and if this was a test, most of these women - volunteers from the national organization for women - would have failed.

That’s because there are actually five lumps hidden in this model to mimic actual tumors.

None of the women was able to identify all five.

“I have to admit, i’ve never done my own breast exam,“ said one participant.

An admission made by at least half these women mostly the younger ones.

And doctors say, that’s a disturbing reality for many women.

They’re either not doing monthly exams or they’re not doing them properly.“

Sibley Hospital Breast Surgeon Dr. Colette Magnant says tumors in a number of her patients would not have been diagnosed if they hadn’t discovered it on their own.

“Especially young patients who don’t have yearly mammograms, who don’t necessarily go to doctors on a regular basis because they’re so healthy,“ said Dr. Magnant.

It’s also harder for doctors and electronic screenings to identify lumps in younger women because their breast tissue is more dense that’s why Magnant says it’s important to be familiar with your breasts at a young age.

“If they get used to doing it when they’re young, when they’re not afraid they’re going to find breast cancer, then as they get older and they are more prone to cancer, like in their 40’s and 50’s and on up, then they’re going to be comfortable with self breast exams and they’re going to know what they’re breasts feel like and they’re going to able to find it,“ said dr. Magnant.

Another common mistake, women not checking the entire area around the breast.

In our survey, all 10 women missed the lump that was at the top of the breast model.

“The breast goes all the way up into the clavicle, it goes down almost into the belly, it goes all the way over into the side and it goes into the sternum or the breast bone. So they have to examine that whole area,“ Dr. Magnant said.