Women’s Performance of Breast Cancer Screening (Breast Self-Examination, Clinical Breast Exam and Mammography)

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in Saudi Arabia. Despite the availability of early detection methods to diagnose breast cancer, a huge number of women are still unaware about these methods. This study was conducted to identify the attitude of women in Medina toward breast cancer screening methods, including breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography. Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional survey has been conducted on 124 women aged from 39 and older, who attended Taibah Medical Center for cancer screening either by doctor's recommendation, family or friends advice, or by herself. Face to face questionnaire was used to collect data. All data were analyzed by statistical analysis system software. Results: The results showed only 35.5%, 27.4% and 37.8% of participants reported that they practiced BSE, CBE and annual mammography, respectively. Only 27.3% of women practiced BSE once per month, and 8.8% visited doctor annually for CBE. Both educational level (p = 0.004) and family history (p = 0.01) were significantly related to BSE. 57.7% of the participants who had positive family history practiced BSE, and 56.0% of the participants who practiced BSE were highly educated. Lacking awareness about BSE is the most important barrier in not practicing BSE, while not having a breast lump was the reason for not undergoing either clinical breast examination (38.7%) or periodic mammography (54.9%). Conclusion: This study emphasized the need for massive health education program to increase awareness, and improve the attitude of women toward breast cancer screening methods.

Extrinsic Risk Factors for Women Breast Cancer in Gaza Strip, Palestine: Associations and Interactions in a Case-Control Study

“…In any case, the literature indicates a family history of BC in any first-degree relative is known to increase a women risk of disease onset [32] [33] [34] [35]. In addition, these results are consistent with the work of Buxton et al, [36], Caruso et al, [37], Silk et al, [38], Aljohani et al, [39], and a meta-analytic review by Katapodi et al, [40] all of whom found an association between risk perception and family history of breast cancer. In developed countries, about twenty-five percent of inter-individual differences mainly due to genetic causes of BC [41].…”

Breast Self-Examination: Knowledge and Practice Among Female Textile Workers in Vietnam

“…Several other researchers also reported similar results. For examples, Aljohani et al reported that 35.5% of their study patients had ever performed BSE, and 27.3% performed BSE monthly 11 ; Obaiko et al reported 30% of ever BSE practice and 14% of frequent BSE 8 ; Aker et al even reported a lower prevalence of regular BSE practice (12.6%). 14 In contrast, in the study of Deniz et al, 51% of study patients have performed BSE.…”

“…5,6 These results are similar to some other studies conducted in Nigeria, 7 Sahara region, 8 Iran, 9 Kuwait, 10 and Saudi Arabia. 11 There are a number of factors that may influence the knowledge and practice of BSE in women, such as literacy, 11,12 occupation, 13 family history of BC, 14,15 marital status, 12 and access to BSE information. 16…”

Knowledge and practice of breast self-examination among female nursing students at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

“…Similarly, Alsaraireh and Darawad (2018), who were mainly interested in questioning BC screening program participation, reported that the minority of the participants had engaged in such a program. At a cancer screening center in Medina, a broader perspective was adopted by Aljohani et al (2016), who highlighted the low level of utilization by Saudi women and argued that only 35.5% of attended women had practiced BSE.…”