Report Calls Breast Self-Exams Unhelpful

Breast self-exams may do more harm than good, a group of experts says. The Cochrane Collaboration looked at previous research from Russia and China. A total of 388,535 women were randomly assigned to perform breast exams, or not. There was no difference in breast cancer deaths between the groups. But women who did breast exams had twice as many biopsies of lumps that were not cancer. Cochrane reached a similar conclusion in 2003. But the American Cancer Society and other groups still recommend self-exams. That’s because many women with breast cancer find lumps themselves. Time Magazine online, ABC News and CNN reported on the story July 15 or 16.