Awareness Of Risk Factors And Aspects of Breast Cancer Among North Indian Women

Objectives: To determine the knowledge of women about breast cancer and its risk factors. Study design: Community based descriptive cross sectional analysis. Setting: Field practice and adjoining areas of urban health training center of Department of community medicine, Government medical college and hospital, Chandigarh. Study subjects: Women more than 30 yrs of age of Chandigarh, North India. Main outcome measures: Women's demographics, knowledge about breast cancer, risk factors, treatment, detection and preventive modalities. Results: All the respondents had heard of breast cancer. Awareness about breast mass/lump to be cardinal symptom of breast cancer was known to 47.2% (463) of respondents. The two main causes of breast cancer according to respondents were late initiation of breast feeding (150, 15.3%) or not practicing breast feeding (166, 16.9%).Late marriage being a risk factor was known only to 55(5.9%) respondents and relation of obesity with breast cancer was known to only 89(9.1%) subjects. The main preventive modality, breast self exam was known by only (324, 33%) subjects. Of those who knew about breast self examination correct methodology was known only to 1/4th of respondents (255, 25.9%).Conclusions: Women do have knowledge deficits about breast cancer and various factors related to it.