Breast self-exam paid off for her

Re: “A More Sensitive Exam?” [Oct. 1]: I was totally dismayed to read about the conflicting advice regarding the value of self-breast exams. I too had heard that healthcare providers were questioning the necessity of such exams with the advent of mammograms. I wanted to believe this statement because it’s one less task for us to do. However, it is imperative that women continue to examine their own breasts even if they don’t know what they are doing.

I had a negative mammogram in November and a healthy breast exam by the gynecologist, followed by another negative exam by my primary care provider in March. Then in August, it was I who found the lump subsequently diagnosed as cancer. Perhaps there will be more “false alarms” with the promotion of breast self-exams, but for those of us who experienced the big “C,” the “unnecessary anxiety” may have saved our lives.

Marsha Sato

Sato is director of the Master of Science in Nursing Program at Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles.