In Bangladesh, breast cancer is thought to be the cause of 69% of cancer-related fatalities among women. One of the biggest obstacles to early identification and treatment is a lack of screening programs and awareness. Many women are still unaware that doing routine breast self-examinations might help them identify breast cancer tumors early. It entails paying close attention to any new or unusual lumps or changes in breast tissue and seeking medical help if necessary. The main concept is to look for:

1. Change in breast size or form

2. Lumps beneath the arm or close to the collarbone

3. Redness or textural changes on the skin.

By regularly examining one’s breasts, women may be able to detect breast cancer early on, when treatment is more likely to be successful.

It must be noted that self-awareness and breast self-examination are not a replacement for other breast cancer screening techniques. Due to their extremely small size, certain breast tumors are not detectable by breast self-examination. Self-assessment should always be used in conjunction with regular doctor-visit, mammography, ultrasound and MRI.