Breast cancer awareness and breast self-examination among future female university graduates: comparison between medical and non-medical students

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONBreast cancer is the most common cancer in women in both developed and developing world. It is estimated that 508,000 women died in 2011 due to breast cancer. 1 The incidence of breast cancer is increasing in the developing world due to increase life expectancy, increase urbanization and adoption of western lifestyles. Although some risk reduction might be achieved with prevention, these strategies cannot eliminate the majority of breast ABSTRACTBackground: Breast cancer is a common health problem among females in Saudi Arabia. The disease account for 27% of all female malignancies representing 25.1% of all newly diagnosed female cancers. The objectives of the current study were to assess the level of carcinoma breast awareness of female university students, Majmaah University in Saudi Arabia and to compare the level of awareness, breast self-examination and breast cancer screening between medical and non-medical students. Methods: The current study was a cross-sectional, conducted among female students in Majmaah University in Saudi Arabia. The stratified and the systematic sampling were employed to select the colleges and the students respectively. The sample size was calculated as 325. Data was collected by a pre tested questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS. Results:The university students who acquired good knowledge were 111 (34.2%). Students who acquired average and poor knowledge were 42.2% and 23.6% respectively. Medical students who had good knowledge were 37.6% compared to 26.9% of non-medical students. The results showed that 94 (28.9%) of the participants practice breast self-examination and 25 (7.6%) performed a screening test. Conclusions:The study concluded that Majmaah University students' awareness of carcinoma breast is low. There is no significant difference in the level of awareness between students of medical colleges and those of non-medical colleges. The level of practicing breast self-examination and performing screening test for carcinoma breast among female university students is low. There is a significant difference in performing carcinoma breast screening test between medical and non-medical students.

Evaluation of Knowledge, Perception, and Risk Awareness About Breast Cancer and Its Treatment Outcome Among University of Gondar Students, Northwest Ethiopia

“…This study stated that, beyond two third of the study subjects revealed to have low overall knowledge toward risk factors, general knowledge, and clinical manifestations of the malignant tumor, which was similar with the reports from Malaysia, Saudi, Egypt, and Nigeria (21, 26–28). Many female students in such higher institutions are unacquainted of clinical breast examination (CBE), the predictors, and early presentation of the tumor.…”

Evaluation of Breast Cancer (BC) Awareness among Female University Students in Zarqa University, Jordan

“…The questionnaire was adapted and developed (by the deletion and adaptation of items and scales) from the literature (5,15,18,20,22,23,25,26,28,29,31,32).…”

“…that BC becoming a global health-care interest, many researchers have been conducted worldwide to explore female's beliefs and knowledge about BC, and investigate their awareness about BC (1,5,(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32). Most of these studies were in developed countries; only Suleiman (1) studied the awareness and attitude toward BC in Jordan, and his results showed that the study sample (Jordan university female students) had an insufficient awareness of BC.…”

The Actual Practice of Breast Self-Examination among Sample of Iraqi Patients with Breast Cancer

“…WHO emphasizes that early diagnosis of breast cancer and appropriate treatment are the ideal and most appropriate strategies for controlling the disease in developing countries (11) . The method of BSE is considered one of the simplest approaches that enable women to detect breast cancer in its earliest stages, through encouraging them to recognize the natural anatomy and texture of their breasts in order to determine any abnormalities in the future (4,(10)(11)(12) . However, it is not recommended to rely on this procedure as an alternative to clinical breast examination, radiology or pathology.…”

“…Although the national program for early detection of breast cancer was established in the Ministry of Health in 2001 (4) , local studies conducted by Iraqi researchers show that more than 40% of the cases diagnosed in Iraq are still detected in advanced stages (5)(6)(7)(8)(9) ; recommending further national efforts to reduce the progression of the disease. In developing countries in general, the absence of a comprehensive nationwide program to control that cancer is considered the main reason behind the delayed diagnosis and mortality resulting from the disease (10) .…”