They say prevention is better than cure. That's why you keep out of the rain to avoid getting a fever, you stay away from office mates with sore eyes to avoid getting infected, and you take supplements daily to keep yourselves from giving in to fatigue. But when it comes to breast cancer--touted as the number one killer of women today--what should you do?

Well, you keep in shape, follow a healthy diet, and of course, regularly give yourself a breast self-exam.

If you don't have the habit of doing a breast self-exam, there's no better time to start than today. Many breast cancer suriviors owe their second chance at life to early detection. And while you may not think of yourself as a candidate for breast cancer, know that many breast cancer patients thought that, too.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, FN presents five simple steps to conducting your own breast self-exam:

(Illustrations courtesy of Sabrina Lajara)