The importance of obstetric(midwife) in breast cancer prevention and recurrence.

Abstract

Recently, the importance of modifying many of the aforementioned factors clearly emerges, thus enhancing healthy behaviors and encouraging various professional figures, including midwives, to play an important role in the prevention of breast cancer through the identification of subjects with a major risk of disease and the incentive to determine a positive change in their lifestyles.The role of the Obstetric is to act his/her activities according to the need of health with the aims of the prevention, the care, the safeguard and rehabilitation of the individual and the common health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the obstetric in breast cancer prevention especially among young women not included in screening programs. An anonymous survey was distributed to consecutive 50 patients who underwent surgery for breast cancer and were followed at a Breast Cancer Department. The patients fulfilled the questionnaire immediately after the examination performed by both the oncologist and the obstetric. The survey focused on women's perception on the potential role of midwife in breast cancer prevention and recurrence. Forty eight women fulfilled the survey (96.0%) and they declared they had a previous contact with a midwife in their life. Thirty-two patients (66.6%) believed that midwife's role could include competences in breast cancer screening. Although only 16 women knew about self-examination at the time of cancer diagnosis, 24 patients were responsible of the detection of a suspected lump; finally, 28 patients (58.3%) believed that a clinical breast examination performed by a health care provider would have had a positive impact on their own history of disease. The results of this study confirm that midwives could be useful in breast cancer prevention. Collaboration between different professional figures including obstetrics for teaching and performing selfbreast examination may be particularly relevant in early diagnosis. Further investigation could confirm the role of obstetric for early diagnosis in young woman (<50 years) excluded by the current screening programs.