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Body awareness and cancer: the evidence

This page contains information about the links between sun exposure and cancer. Click on the links below to read about specific topics.

• Checking your skin
• Checking your breasts
• Being breast aware
• Checking your testicles

You can find out more about the evidence behind other health topics in our other How do we know? pages.

Checking your skin for changes can save your life

Malignant melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. If melanomas are detected early, almost all patients are successfully treated. But only 1 in 4 patients with the thickest and most advanced melanomas will survive 1. So detecting these cancers early is very important.

One American study found that more than half of all melanomas are found by cancer patients themselves 2. Italian researchers found that checking your skin for cancer also leads to earlier diagnosis of any problems 3. Experts estimate that self-examination may reduce death rates from melanoma by 63%4.

Regularly checking breasts does not offer significant benefits

Many organisations around the world previously recommended women to check their breasts monthly after the age of 20 5,6. The recommended methods were varied and many were overly complicated. And many studies disagreed on whether such self-examination had any effect on breast cancer deaths 7.

Recently, a study involving 250,000 women found that teaching women about breast self-examination did not significantly reduce breast cancer death rates 8. And a recent analysis of 23 different studies agreed that the previously recommended breast self-examination methods do not to save lives from breast cancer 9.

But breast awareness and screening are the key to early detection

In 1991, the UK abandoned systematic breast self-examination and replaced it with a policy of being breast aware. This new policy was based on work by Cancer Research UK scientists 10.

Awareness of one’s own breasts is still important. Detecting a cancer at an early stage can greatly increase the chances of successful treatment 7. The majority of breast cancer symptoms are first spotted by women themselves 11.

Being breast aware and knowing what is normal for you will help you to be aware of any changes from normal. Any unusual changes should be reported promptly to a GP.

Breast self-examination should not be used as an alternative to breast screening, a method that has been proven to reduce breast cancer deaths 12.

Checking testicles helps men spot problems early

Many studies have shown that men who are diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer undergo more treatments and have a lower chance of survival. On the other hand, if the disease is caught early, it is relatively easy to cure. At least 9 in 10 men with testicular cancer currently survive their disease 13.

There have not been enough studies on testicular self-examination to determine if it can reduce the number of people dying from testicular cancer. But some experts feel that regular checks are an easy way for men to spot cancers early 14,15.

Following puberty, men should become aware of the normal shape and feel of their testicles. It is only by knowing what is normal that any changes can be noticed and suspicious signs and symptoms acted on 16.

References

1. Sahin, S., et al., Predicting ten-year survival of patients with primary cutaneous melanoma: corroboration of a prognostic model. Cancer, 1997. 80: p. 1426-31.PubMed
2. Koh, H., et al., Who discovers melanoma? Patterns from a population-based survey. J Am Acad Dermatol, 1992. 26: p. 914-9.PubMed
3. Carli, P., et al., Dermatologist detection and skin self-examination are associated with thinner melanomas: results from a survey of the Italian Multidisciplinary Group on Melanoma. Arch Dermatol, 2003. 139: p. 607-12.PubMed
4. Berwick, M., et al., Screening for cutaneous melanoma by skin self-examination. J Natl Cancer Inst, 1996. 88: p. 17-23.PubMed
5. IARC, Breast Cancer Screening. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, ed. H. Vainio and F. Bianchini. Vol. 7. 2002, Lyon: IARCPress.
6. Boyle, P., et al., European School of Oncology Advisory report to the European Commission for the "Europe Against Cancer Programme" European Code Against Cancer. Eur J Cancer, 1995. 31A: p. 1395-405.PubMed
7. Austoker, J., Breast self examination. BMJ, 2003. 326: p. 1-2.PubMed
8. Thomas, D., et al., Randomized trial of breast self-examination in Shanghai: final results. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2002. 94: p. 1445-57.PubMed
9. Hackshaw, A. and E. Paul, Breast self-examination and death from breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Br J Cancer, 2003. 88: p. 1047-1053.PubMed
10. Austoker, J., Be Breast Aware (leaflet). 1991: DH & NHS.Link
11. Facione, N., et al., Helpseeking for self-discovered breast symptoms. Implications for early detection. Cancer Pract, 1997. 5: p. 220-7.PubMed
12. Smith, R., et al., American Cancer Society guidelines for breast cancer screening: update 2003. CA Cancer J Clin, 2003. 53: p. 141-69.PubMed
13. Peate, I., Testicular cancer: the importance of effective health education. Br J Nurs, 1997. 6: p. 311-6.PubMed
14. Austoker, J., Screening for ovarian, prostatic, and testicular cancers. Bmj, 1994. 309(6950): p. 315-20.PubMed
15. Chapple, A., S. Ziebland, and A. McPherson, Qualitative study of men's perceptions of why treatment delays occur in the UK for those with testicular cancer. Br J Gen Pract, 2004. 54: p. 25-32.PubMed
16. Hopcroft, K., C. Martin, and A. Moulds, What benefit testicular self-examination? Br J Gen Pract, 2004. 54(500): p. 214; author reply 214-5.PubMed