Breast self-examination: assessing its knowledge attitude and practice among ethnic Kashmiri females

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONCancer of breast is disease which affects many dimensions of health as it gives physical, emotional, psychological as well as economical set back to the women affected. Among women breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed globally (25.2 % of all new cases of cancers).1 A recent report by the Indian Council of Medical Research predict the number of breast cancer cases in India to rise to 106,124 in 2015 and to 123,634 in 2020. 2 Breast cancer is now the most common cancer among women in India and accounts for 7% of global burden of breast cancer.3 Among Kashmiri women breast cancer is the second leading cancer after esophageal cancer, with an incidence rate of 12.6 per 100,000. 4 The incidence, mortality and survival rates for breast cancer vary across the globe because of underlying differences in known risk factors, availability of organized screening programs and access to effective and affordable treatment modalities. Studies have shown that in contrast to the developed nations most of the developing nations have recorded a poor outcome and high fatality rate owing to diagnosis of the breast cancer in advanced stages. Globally, breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography are the recommended screening test for early detection of breast cancer. 5 Due to lack of access to diagnostic facilities, especially for women in low resource settings, it is essential to empower them with BSE as a primary modality for screening. Breast self-examination is an ABSTRACT Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide but is the second commonest cancer in Kashmir women. The most easy and cost effective way of early detection of breast cancer is through breast self-examination (BSE) the utility of which can help to make early interventions and thus better prognosis. The objectives of the study were to assess the knowledge and practice about breast self-examination among ethnic Kashmiri females. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was done among ethnic Kashmiri women. A sample 250 women in the age group of 20 to 60 years was selected from SMHS hospital. A predesigned semi-structured study instrument was used to collect the data through interview method. Results:The results showed that only 26% of the participants had ever heard of breast cancer and among them for 50.8% the source of information was media. Regarding knowledge of breast self-examination 92.4 % had never heard of it. Only 5.6% participants had self-examined their breast. Conclusions:The study points to the insufficient knowledge of Kashmiri females about breast cancer and its simplest screening method of self-examination.

Practice and knowledge about breast self -examination among female students in College of Medicine, University of Baghdad: A Descriptive cross-sectional study

“…According to the latest Iraqi Cancer Registry, estimated that 4115 cases of breast cancer were reported in 2013 accounting for 19.5% of all newly diagnosed malignancies and 34% of the registered female cancers, indicating that the breast cancer is the leading cancer site among females (13) The present study involved female med ical students in Baghdad university, college of Medicine (aged 17-25),our findings have shown considerable awareness about the existence of breast cancer, 99.5% of participants had heard about breast cancer. This is higher than the 81.2% and 64% observed in a group of Malaysians [14] and Iranian [15] wo men respectively. This is may be due to the fact that breast cancer is part of a medical curriculum.…”

A Study to Assess the Knowledge and Expressed Practices regarding Breast Self-Examination among Women in a Selected Area of Haryana

“…The women were in the age group of 20-60 years. The results depicted that only 5.6% has self-examined their breast which is similar to our study as only half of the participants were practicing breast self-examination 8.…”

“…The earlier a disease is diagnosed and treated the better it is from the point of view of prognosis and preventing the occurrence of further damage. 8 The stage of the breast cancer is the most important component of traditional classification methods of breast cancer, because it has a greater effect on the prognosis than the other consideration size, local involvement, lymph node status and whether metastatic disease is present. The higher the stage at diagnosis, the poorer the prognosis.…”

Comparative Study on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Self Breast Examination and Breast Cancer Screening Between First and Second Class Women of Kitwe District

“…For example, one study found that the leading source of information about breast cancer was "elders, neighbours and friends [21]. Other studies recognised the media and health workers [22,14]. Furthermore, out all the respondents who had heard about CBE, only 87.3% of them were able to explain correctly what it was.…”