Monthly self-checks can be a helpful way to recognize early symptoms of conditions such as cancer. People may benefit from checking body parts such as the breasts, chest, testicles, and skin monthly.
Many major health organizations do not officially recommend monthly self-examinations. However, being aware of how their body typically feels can help a person recognize changes that could warrant investigation by a healthcare professional.
The breasts, testicles, and skin are body areas that could benefit from regular self-checks. If a person notices changes in one of these areas with no apparent cause, scheduling an appointment with a doctor may be beneficial.
Breast and chest self-exams involve a person regularly checking their breasts or chest for changes that could indicate cancer, such as a lump in the breast tissue or a visual change to the nipple.
Some research indicates that routine self-exams are currently
Some symptoms that can indicate cancer may also occur due to noncancerous health conditions. For example, a breast or chest lump may be a cyst, not a cancerous tumor.
Some organizations in the United States do not typically recommend self-exams because they may lead to unnecessary stress and diagnostic procedures, such as biopsies, without decreasing breast cancer mortality rates.
However, other research highlights the importance of self-examinations and indicates that the majority of breast cancers found in the study were first identified as a result of self-examination.
Anyone who notices changes to their breasts or chest during a self-examination may benefit from speaking with a healthcare professional to undergo further diagnostic checks. This may include a clinical exam.
Breast cancer can affect anyone,
To perform a breast or chest self-examination, use the following steps:
- Stand unclothed in front of a mirror with your hands on your hips and your shoulders straight. Look for any changes in your breasts or chest, which may include:
- changes in shape or size
- skin dimpling or puckering
- color changes or a new rash
- visible changes to the nipple
- Still standing in front of the mirror, raise your arms and look for the same changes.
- Check your nipples for signs of unexpected fluid.
- Feel your breasts or chest for lumps while standing or sitting. Raise one arm in the air and feel the breast or pectoral on that side using your other hand, looking for lumps or other changes.
- Keep the first few fingers together and feel the breast or chest using the finger pads.
- Move the fingers in small, circular motions, covering the entire breast or pectoral and surrounding area, including the armpits.
- Use firm pressure and smooth motions.
- Lie down on your back and repeat step 4 in this new position, feeling for changes.
Like breast or chest self-exams, testicular self-exams involve a person regularly checking their testicles for changes that could indicate cancer.
A 2025 study suggests that testicular self-examination improves testicular cancer diagnoses and survival rates.
However, like breast or chest self-exams, there are no consistent guidelines for testicular self-exams. Clinicians may recommend that people familiarize themselves with what is usual for their body to identify changes.
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) recommends that people perfrom regular testicular checks from puberty, which is usually around 12 years old.
During a testicular self-exam, people should look for lumps, visual changes in the testicles, pain, or any other changes that are not typical for the individual.
To perform a testicular self-exam, use the following steps during or after a warm bath or shower:
- Hold the scrotum in the palm of one hand. The scrotum is the skin that covers your testicles.
- Using your other hand, gently roll your testicles between your thumb and fingers. Check one testicle at a time.
- Feel behind the testicles for any firmness, swelling, or pain in the tubes there.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and melanoma has one of the least favorable outlooks.
Skin cancer can occur anywhere on the body, but people may have a higher risk of developing it in areas with more exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays.
When looking for skin cancer, people should check spots and moles on their skin, particularly for any changes in size, shape, or color. Potential features of skin cancer include spots or moles with:
- asymmetry
- irregular or undefined borders
- irregular coloring
- wounds that do not heal
Research from Pakistan suggests that skin examinations can help to improve diagnosis and survival rates for melanoma, a type of skin cancer.
To perform a skin self-exam, use the
- Stand in front of a large mirror, unclothed, and check the front of your upper body for potential signs of skin cancer.
- Work from the top down to avoid missing any body parts. Make sure to check areas that may be harder to see, such as inside your ears and nostrils.
- Lift any flaps of skin, including the breasts, to check underneath them.
- Raise your arms to check the armpits. Rotate your arms to examine them from all angles.
- Sit down to check your lower body, including the legs, feet, between your toes, and underneath your toenails.
- Use a hand mirror to examine the soles of your feet and the back of your legs.
- Stand again to examine your buttocks, genitals, and back using a hand mirror. You may find it easier to check these areas by standing with your back to a wall mirror and looking at it using a hand mirror.
- Examine your scalp, using a comb or hairdryer to part your hair. You may find it easiest to see the whole scalp using both a wall and a hand mirror.
Most cancers have more favorable outlooks when people diagnose them and start treatment early. Knowing how their body typically looks and feels can help them identify any changes.
Some health organizations may choose not to recommend regular self-checks as part of their advice for cancer screening because they may cause unnecessary stress or invasive diagnostic procedures.
However, whether for the breasts or chest, testicles, or skin, self-examinations may help to identify changes that can indicate cancer.
Changes in these body parts will not always mean a person has cancer. Only a healthcare professional can diagnose the underlying cause of changes such as lumps or new moles.
If a person has cancer, early diagnosis and treatment
Monthly self-checks can help people become familiar with their bodies. This is important to help them recognize changes that could indicate cancer or another health issue.
The changes people should look for depend on the body part they are examining. Visual changes or noticeable lumps with no apparent cause may warrant speaking with a healthcare professional.
What you can do today
- Carry out your monthly self-checks, which may include breast or chest, testicular, and skin exams.
- Make note of any irregularities you find during self-exams.
- Contact a healthcare professional for a proper diagnosis if you find anything irregular with your body.
- If you find no irregularities, set a reminder or schedule your next self-checks in a diary for a month’s time.
Self-checks remain controversial in some health areas. However, being familiar with their body can help a person notice irregularities that could lead to a diagnosis.
Monthly self-checks on body areas, including the breasts or chest, testicles, and skin, may help people identify early signs of cancer or other health issues.
Anyone who notices a change in their body with no apparent cause can speak with a healthcare professional for a proper diagnosis.