Breast cancer detection begins with knowing and recognizing the risk factors and symptoms of the cancer. Risk factors of breast cancer include such things as a genetic disposition or a family history of the disease, but could also include factors that you can change such as smoking, drinking heavily and living an unhealthy lifestyle. Symptoms of breast cancer are varied. One of the most commonly recognized signs of breast cancer are lumps in the breast. Most women who know anything about breast cancer know that one way to detect it is to perform a self examination once a month. Self examinations involve feeling each breast to determine whether or not there are any irregularities. To learn more about how to perform a self-breast exam you can visit a variety of different breast cancer information sites online.

The other common forms of breast cancer detection that require more effort include annual mammograms. A mammogram is like an x-ray but for the breast. The procedure is simple and relatively painless although most women would agree that the method used to gather the information for the scan can be uncomfortable. In most cases your doctor will be able to tell you whether or not you have the disease from this screening. For many women, breast cancer screenings are covered completely by their health insurance plans (providers recognize the value of these screenings as preventative care).

For those who do not have insurance or who are worried about their ability to pay for the screenings, more and more women's clinics with free screening services are popping up all over the country. There are dozens of programs available that can help pay for the mammograms of women who are over certain age or provide free screenings to women who are in a low-income group. With a little research you can easily find the means and the location for where you can go to be screened for breast cancer. This applies to men too. Although breast cancer is not something that men are usually particularly worried about, there are men who have breast cancer. If you are a man who has a family history of breast cancer or you have other reason to suspect that your risk factors for breast cancer are greater, there is no reason why you too should not be taking steps toward early detection.

Detection of breast cancer has come leaps and bounds in just the last few years. Awareness of this cancer has spread like wild fire and efforts to detect and provide early treatment have never been better. Still, there is room for improvement; and with all of the technology available, there is still no technology that screens your body for breast cancer without any effort on your part. The most important part of the detection of breast cancer is to continue to have routine screening tests. It is that simple.