Jill Biden, Breast Self-Exams and "Proper Breast Health": The Right Emphasis for High School Girls?

Wow, Sarah, you have a way different take on this than me. Yeah, the BBHI site is outdated - says it hasn't been updated since 2006, which is like the Stone Age in Web time. And the American Cancer Society did downgrade the importance of BSEs (breast self exams).

But "breast awareness" is still front and center on everyone's radar screen. What's changed is how you go about it: not in the formal BSE way, but in an everyday, informal way. TLC - Touch, Look, Check - is how Breakthrough Breast Cancer (Canada's Komen semi-equivalent) puts it. Know what your breasts feel like; be aware of any changes.

As young women, my generation never heard anything about breast cancer; it was a dirty secret for old people, something your grandmother whispered about to her friends. Thanks to Jill and people like her, women are hearing their first hard facts about breast cancer awareness as teenagers.

So maybe Jill needs to shout a little louder and stand a little taller on the stump. 2 milion survivors will be glad to hear about what she's done. And anxious for her to carry it forward. GO JILL!

I understand that the studies don't show a significant survival difference in women who do BSE monthly and those who don't.  And I understand that some of the resources that have been poured into BSE education could be better directed.  However, young women do need to be taught what is normal and what needs to be called to a doctor's attention.  I took the quiz on Jill Biden's foundation's website, and I was pleased to note that it emphasized looking for changes, not lumps.  From my point of view as an inflammatory breast cancer survivor, breast awareness has overemphasized looking for lumps.  Sure, I read the wording about dimpling when I learned how to do BSE.  But I assumed that it had to do with a lump pushing out and causing a "dimple" when actually dimpling can be a sign of inflammatory breast cancer which often has no lump. When I had breast changes, I didn't know they might indicate cancer because I couldn't feel a lump and I had a mammogram just six weeks before that didn't show anything.

A monthly breast exam might not be the way to go anymore, but becoming familiar with what is normal for us at various times of the month is crucial to knowing when to call the doctor for further evaluation.

From what I have gathered in my research, it seems that Jill had a personal calling after her three friends were diagnosed with Breast Cancer (one of those friends dying of the disease). So it seems that she wanted to get involved somehow but wasn't really sure how, as she admits that she's not "into the medical aspect." She teaches English, not Biology I suppose, so she seems to be approaching the topic as an outsider. She hasn't really had the direct calling that, say, Elizabeth Edwards has had -- the type of direct calling that would make her militant. She also professes to not be a very political person, so it seems she's just trying to approach it from an Educator's perspective because that's her comfort zone. I think it's cool that she is interested in this arena, although you're right her goals are a bit dated... Perhaps with Joe & Barack working on health care, she'll find a more prominent role. (Thanks for checking out my post at Donklephant, btw!)

your assessment is way too harsh. she's not claiming to be an expert, just someone who's doing her part to drive awareness. to say it's back and white, bse or nothing is not a realistic nor only approach to helping prevent breast cancer. unless you can cite that she's making bse recommendations explicitly at the exclusion of anything else, i think all and all her contributions are a net positive benefit that should be welcomed.

Also worth reading: Anne Mitchell's post on Jill Biden and quitting smoking.