BACKGROUND/AIMS: In recent decades the fight against breast cancer has focused primarily on the treatment and secondary prevention (early detection mainly). In the case of breast self-examination, althought it has not been prove to reduce mortality, it is important in cases detected by women themselves (it is estimated 90% of total), mainly in the interval cancers. OBJECTIVES: To identify within women with breast cancer, how many do self-examination and identify associated factors. Describe the clinical and pathological features of cancers in women who do perform self-examination. METHODOLOGY: In women diagnosed with breast cancer during 2007 in a hospital in the province of Cadiz, Spain, is reconstructed in retrospect the story related the cancer process: symptoms, psychosocial factors that determine the contact with the health system, preventive practices (self-examination, mammography screening). A description of the pathological tumor: presenting symptom, tumor size, node negative, grade of differentiation. RESULTS: We studied 149 women with breast cancer, from whom 52% did self-exploration. Women who performed self-examination were younger (54.78 years) against the women who did not (65.63 years), married (66.2%), active workers and have a higher educational level. The assessment of the first symptoms in these women as "important" is positively correlated with those women who practice self-examination. For other preventive practices, women who does self-examination are also the most actives in early detection programs (74.4% against 29.5% which didn't do self-examination). For the pathologic characteristics of tumor in women who did self-examination: the tumor size was 2.5 cm, 50.7/are well differentiated, and 59.1% of cases the nodes are negative. CONCLUSIONS: Women who does self-examination are younger, have higher educational level, are married, are active workers and are often involved in other preventive practices. On them, the tumors diagnosed have a smaller size, are diagnosed at earlier stages and usually present better degree of differentiation.