My cousin and my brother both forwarded some disturbing press to me this week.  Seems that now the jury is out on whether or not women should do breast self-exams.  They go on to say that they could actually cause more harm–unnecessary biopsies, stress, anxiety, scarring.  Yes.  Many biopsies come back benign–that’s a good thing.  But some, like mine, don’t.  I think the research is pretty wishy washy and actually somewhat ridiculous.  Younger women have dense breasts.   Mammograms do a really mediocre job of finding lumps in dense breasts.  I could feel my lump and the mammogram still saw nothing.  So how can they say that breast self-exams are not necessary?  My message to you is don’t listen to this research.  Continue to do breast self-exams, and if you don’talready do them, start.  If you are unsure of something, get it checked.  Take a look at the St. John Hospital spot, Cancer Opera, that prompted me to find my lump.  It might just motivate you.