BSE was once promoted heavily as a means of finding cancer at a more curable stage, but large randomized controlled studies found that it was not effective in preventing death, and actually caused harm through needless biopsies, surgery, and anxiety.

Some charitable organizations still promote BSE as a universal screening approach, even in the low-risk women who are most likely to be harmed by unnecessary follow-up procedures.

Writer Gayle A. Sulik, in her book Pink Ribbon Blues, suggests that these charities are motivated by their donations depending on fear of breast cancer.

Women are also more likely to perform BSE if they have experienced a false positive error from screening mammography (being wrongly told that breast cancer may be present, when the woman is actually cancer-free).

The woman then palpates her breasts with the pads of her fingers to feel for lumps (either superficial or deeper in tissue) or soreness.

One is called the seven P's of BSE, after seven steps that are named to have the same first initial: Positions, Perimeter, Palpation, Pressure, Pattern, Practice, and Planning what to do if a change is found in the breast tissue.

For pre-menopausal women, most methods suggest that the self-exam be performed at the same stage of the woman's menstrual cycle, because the normal hormone fluctuations can cause changes in the breasts.

[11] Also, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners states that teaching women to perform breast self-examination is no longer recommended.

[13] It is currently being investigated whether breast self examination would be useful as an alternative screening technique in remote areas where women do not have access to regular mammogram tests or comprehensive gynecological care, but more research is required to form a consensus.

[14] Activists began promoting breast self-examination in the 1930s because their exhortation to not delay seeking treatment for suspicious lumps was not affecting the death rate.