A STUDY ON IMPACT OF EDUCATION ON AWARENESS ABOUT BREAST CANCER AMONG RURAL WOMEN IN THANJAVUR DISTRICT (original) (raw)
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2021
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world, India accounting for largest estimated deaths. Women present with advanced stages at which little benefit is derived from therapy resulting in poor survival. Women from poor sectors are at more risk because of inadequate knowledge and health care approach. Increasing their awareness can help in early detection and alter their treatment seeking attitude thus improving the survival rates. In order to assess the same, a Cross Sectional Study was conducted in 2015 among 393 poor urban women between the ages of 18-45 years, residing in Khasbag, Belagavi. Awareness of breast cancer, risk factors showed that 11.2% had poor knowledge, 57.5% had fair knowledge and 31.3% had good knowledge. With respect to signs and symptoms of breast cancer 71% had good knowledge, 27.7% had fair knowledge while only 1.3% had poor knowledge. Majority of the women had good overall knowledge (60.1%) and attitude (91.6%) levels. Most of them (97.2%) showed...
Breast Cancer Awareness among Females in a Developing world- A Study from Kashmir
East and Central African Journal of Surgery, 2010
Background: Breast cancer is a major health issue and in developing regions, where the early cancer detection facilities are unavailable awareness about this disease can lead to early detection and thereby potentially decrease the morbidity and mortality. Methods: A self designed questionnaire was used to study the level of awareness regarding breast cancer among 864 Kashmiri females. The questionnaire had 18 questions and on the basis on score attained, the subjects were classified as having poor, average or good breast cancer awareness. Results: Out of 864 participants, 703(81.37%) had poor breast cancer awareness and 103(11.92%) had average awareness. Only 58(6.71%) had good awareness about breast cancer. Conclusion: The level of awareness regarding breast cancer in Kashmiri females is very low and there is a need to spread awareness about this disease among the general population.
Tackling_breast_cancer_in_developing_countries_ins.pdf
Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene , 2018
Background. Breast cancer occurrences in developing countries are gradually matching caucasian levels. Since early detection is linked to reductions in morbidities and mortality, affordable screening techniques like breast self-examination (BSE) becomes imperative in these resource-limited economies. Ascertaining the Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) of breast cancers and BSE among young adult females will help provide baseline information for early and targeted interventions. Method. A cross sectional survey involving 432 female senior secondary school students in Otuocha Educational Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. Results. A total of 321 (74.3%) valid questionnaires were returned. Mean age was 16.79 ± 1.48 years. Even though 84.6% and 55.2% had respectively heard about breast cancer and BSE, and the ‘General Knowledge’ of breast cancer was high (75.2%), specifics on ‘Risk Factors’ (41.5%) and ‘Symptoms’ (46.1%) were poor. Knowledge on correct BSE ‘Techniques’ was 52.9%, but few know when to commence (43.1%), the right frequency (31.5%), or the right timing (24.6%). A large majority (73.6%) had positive attitudes, but only 6.1% practice it monthly, while 55.3% had never done it at all. No significant predictors of Knowledge and Practice of BSE was identified. Conclusion. Health campaigns on BSE and breast cancers should provide specific details on techniques, risk factors and symptoms, while emphasizing on the right methods, timing and frequency. The positive attitudes identified raise optimism that health interventions would be effective and can have long term benefits. If possible, BSE and breast cancer teachings should be included in the secondary school academic curricula of resource-limited countries.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS IN RURAL AREAS OF PAKISTAN
Background: Breast cancer is still most commonly occurring of all cancers in the females with an incidence of 1.8 million and 8 million deaths reported in 2013. [31] Unfortunately more than 90,000 patients are being diagnosed annually in Pakistan mostly in the terminal stage. [32] The only way forward for its early detection depends on the women education regarding etiology, risk factors and prognosis associated with early screening. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in DHQ Teaching Hospital Sargodha during January 2019 to June 2019 using stratified random sampling. A total of 104 female patients were enrolled using a self-structured questionnaire. Knowledge of breast cancer risk factors was categorized into good, fair and poor categories. Results: Only 7 percent of patients possessed good knowledge about the risk factors. This included the ones who were involved in the cancer care of their friends/family members, underwent breast self-exam or attended a surgical/gynaecological OPD for breast tenderness/antenatal visits. Conclusion: Our study highlighted the fact that there is an evident lack of knowledge prevailing in the rural segments of our society about the risk factors associated with the breast cancer. Only 7 percent females from the rural areas of Pakistan possessed adequate knowledge. Early identification of the danger signs and initiation of timely interventions can reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with the breast cancer. Therefore, it is recommended that extensive public awareness campaigns should be encouraged to outreach the females of rural population especially and educate them regarding self-breast examination, benefits of early screening and diagnosis.
Cancer, 2010
In most low-and middle-resource countries (LMCs), breast cancer incidence rates are increasing more rapidly than in regions where incidence rates already are high. Despite the younger age structure of most developing countries, LMCs already account for 45% of the incident breast cancer cases and cause 54% of the annual breast cancer deaths around the globe. 1 Even assuming (conservatively) that there will be no change in underlying age-specific rates, a nearly 50% increase is anticipated in breast cancer global incidence and mortality between the years 2002 and 2020 caused simply by the aging of current global populations. These rising cancer rates will be disproportionately greater among countries in the developing world, and the rates in LMCs are projected to reach a 55% increased incidence and a 58% increased mortality in <20 years. 1 In reality, these projected statistics probably underestimate future cancer rates, because the few data available from LMCs reveal increasing age-specific breast cancer incidence and mortality rates, especially among recent birth cohorts. This is especially true for urban women in LMCs and is attributable in part to the adoption of Western lifestyles. 2,3 Improvements in breast cancer survival in the industrialized world that have been observed in recent decades can be attributed to early detection by screening combined with timely and effective treatment as guided by the results of extensive and rigorously performed clinical trials. 4 Randomized trials of screening mammography combined with clinical breast examination (CBE) initiated in the 1970s demonstrated that early cancer detection within a given population leads to down-staging of disease and improvement in breast cancer survival. At the same time, randomized trials of systemic therapies for breast cancer proved that endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive cancers and cytotoxic chemotherapy for ER-negative cancers improve survival and produce durable long-term cure among patients with lymph node negative, lymph node positive, and even locally advanced breast cancers. 5 Breast cancer mortality essentially was unchanged in the United States for 6 decades between 1930 and 1990. By contrast, since 1990, age-adjusted breast cancer mortality has been dropping by nearly 2% each year in the United States, indicating that true progress is being made in the management of this disease. 6 Similar improvements also are being observed in Western European countries that have invoked population-wide early detection and adjuvant treatment programs. Notably, minority women in the United States are more likely to present with advanced stage disease and have higher mortality rates than white women, although white women and black women who present with similar stage disease and receive similar treatment have similar outcomes. These findings suggest that differences in stage at presentation should represent a primary target for research, the goal of which is to determine which interventions best reduce disparities in cancer outcomes among women from different social or racial groups. 7
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 2021
According to WHO, breast cancer is the most frequently found cancer in women, and millions of women are affected all over the world. On average annual estimation in 2012, there were 1.7 million cases of the 5,21,900 have resulted in death. According to Globocan, breast cancer is 25% of all cancer and 15% of all cancer related deaths among women. Breast cancer in developing counties is half of total brest cancer cases in world and around 60% of breast cancer death occurs in developing countries. The incidence in developing countries is low but mortality is high due to late presentation, due to lack of awareness of knowledge of risk factors, signs and symptoms, and various screening method.
Breast Cancer Mortality In a Resource-Poor Country: A Ten-Year Experience in a Tertiary Institution
ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION; Breast cancer is a major global public health problem accounting for massive morbidity and significant mortality worldwide. Factors contributing to breast-cancer mortality have been a topic of intense research and discussion in the scientific world. SETTING; This study is carried out in a 400-bedded tertiary hospital in Abuja, capital of Nigeria. MATERIALS AND METHODS; A retrospective review of all breast samples in the department of Histopathology over a decade is performed supported by clinical information including outcome from the Medical Record archives. RESULTS: Of 2292 breast samples received in the department, 35.3% (n=810) are malignant out of which 10.6% (n=86) died. Breast cancer incidence increased from 29 in 2005 to 141 by 2013 while mortality declined from eleven (11) to nine (9) over the same period. A crude fatality rate of 3.7% is observed. The ages of the decedents ranged from 20 to 90 years with a mean of 43.5 years. Infiltrative ductal carcinoma accounts for the largest mortality with 87.4%. CONCLUSION: Breast cancer is an important cause of mortality among females and efforts at early detection and treatment should be intensified.
Breast Cancer Care in Developing Countries
World Journal of Surgery, 2009
Background Breast cancer is the commonest cancer of women the world over, and its incidence is rising, especially in developing countries, where the disease poses a major health care challenge. This growing incidence in developing countries reflects the advanced stage at diagnosis, low levels of public awareness of the risk for the disease, and poor medical infrastructure and expertise, with the resultant poor treatment outcomes. Methods This article provides a collective edited summary of the presentations at the symposium titled “Breast Cancer Care in Developing Countries,” held as part of the Breast Surgery International program at the International Surgical week 2007, Montreal, Canada, August 2007. The aim of the presentations was to bring out the diverse clinical pathological and outcomes-related facts of breast cancer care available to women in several countries. As the incidence of breast cancer continues to rise steadily in the developing world, the lack of awareness of this disease and the absence of breast cancer screening programs make it almost certain that the majority of breast cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. In addition, the quality of care available for breast cancer patients varies widely according to where the patient is treated. Results Though there are some centers of excellence providing multimodality protocol-based treatment on a par with the best anywhere in the world, most breast cancer patients receive inadequate and inappropriate treatment because of a lack of high-quality infrastructure—and sometimes skills—and, above all, because of limited financial resources. Conclusions In countries where these limitations are present, there is a need to emphasize public health education, promoting early diagnosis. In addition, resources must be directed toward the creation of more public facilities for cancer treatment. As these goals are met, it is likely that there will be a much-needed improvement in breast cancer care in developing countries.