Conflicting advice about breast self-examinations: what's a woman to do?

No wonder women are confused. I was doing my daily web search on breast cancer news stories and the two articles at the bottom of this post were right next to each other.

The first, a story from Michigan, encourages women to take action when they find a lump, and make sure they are properly examined and tested. The second, from New Zealand, quotes a prominent doctor who believes BSE's are not effective. Now before we rip him to shreds, he does advocate for mammograms and ultrasound from the age of 40, which he feels is a more effective method of early detection.

Personally, I have a tough time advising women not to consider BSE's. They are free, and you can do them even if you do not have access to health care.

Here are links to both articles.

http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/05/misdiagnosed_lump_turns_out_to.html

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/3695964/Self-breast-checks-pointless

What do you think?  Post your opinion in our comments section.

Suzanne