In India, 200,000 individuals are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
Most women often ignore the painless lump or an abnormally thick mass of skin in the breast area.
But timely diagnosis is one of the first steps to getting it treated on time.
"Breast examination helps a woman to be self aware of her own body; so that a woman can know that something different is happening within the breasts," says Dr Vijay Haribhakti, the well-respected oncologist at the Sir HN Reliance Hospital, Mumbai.
Dr Haribhakti, a microvascular and reconstructive surgeon, with 30 years of experience, insists that "it (self examination) is not a substitute to standard screening procedures."
"There is no evidence to support the diagnostic role of beast self examination. It cannot replace a physician based examination or standard investigation," he adds.
Watch the video in which Dr Haribhakti helps you understand the right way to perform breast self examination:
