A cross section of a lemon teaches breast tactile knowledge faster than traditional medical illustrations.

Most breast health education materials are rarely tested with their audiences to determine if they work before money is spent on printing. To make sure the Know Your Lemons materials would be effective, several studies were conducted to get the visuals and the messages just right. 

Our lemon "cross section" poster was informed by a general survey which found half of patients didn’t know what a cancerous lump felt like (n=255). Further testing found accurate tactile knowledge with a traditional illustration was 15% (n=36)

We designed a poster illustrating what the anatomy of a breast felt like, using the friendly metaphor of the lemon, and then tested it alongside a traditional line drawing of anatomy, common in education materials (see images above). The results were dramatic in terms of accurate tactile knowledge.

When asked the question:

“Does seeing breast anatomy in this visual way improve your understanding of what to feel for when you are doing a breast self-exam?”

97% said yes.

65% also said it made them feel more confident in their ability to recognize breast cancer.

86% had accurate tactile knowledge after seeing the second poster. Interestingly, most people didn’t read the text in the second poster. Their knowledge was based mostly on looking at the images. 

It was also discovered that many people didn’t know that breast cancer could be presented in other ways besides a lump. A poster was designed to illustrate these signs. See more on this research at our blog.

Want to use these materials in your clinic? Please visit www.knowyourlemons.com/shop

Here's what one patient had to say about our "12 Signs of Breast Cancer" 

"I’m only 32, I’m really bad at feeling for lumps, then I found your page; then continued to the website. From there I started feeling and actually ended up finding a lump in my left breast. I have a mammogram scheduled for Monday! Thank you for always posting and informing women on how to be aware of their bodies, I know I am thankful for coming across this page. I’m hoping for the best at my app."  @deucedeuce, shared on Instagram, 2017