Stand or sit in front of a mirror where you have good lighting. Place both hands on top of your head and pull your arms back. Observe your breast carefully, looking for indentations of the skin (retraction), puckering, and any irregularities or thickening of the skin. Look at the nipples to be sure they are the same as they were the previous months. Don't be surprised if your breast are not the same; no woman's breast are exactly symmetrical.

Put your hands on your hips and press to make the breasts "stand out". Then do visual check again

Lie down on your back. Examine your left breast with your right hand and your right breast with your left hand. It is best to do this with a small pillow under the shoulder of the breast, you are examiing.

Examine your breast with your fingers together flat against your breasts, with gentle but firm pressure. Work from the outside toward the nipple, or from the nipple out, on a circular, spiral pattern.

Also feel the area around the nipple. Squeeze the nipple gently, to see if there is any discharge.

Feel up under your arm in your armpit (axilla).