Knowledge and awareness of Breast & Cervical cancer among women aged 15 to 35

Abstract

In both the developed and the developing world, Breast & Cervical cancer are the most common cancers among women. It has become a high risk for the Asian women. In Bangladesh the number of breast & cervical cancer patients is increasing day by day. The aim of our study was to evaluate the knowledge practice and preventive measures of breast & cervical cancer among the general women in Bangladesh. This study is done by collecting data among women aged 15- 35 (n=360) containing different questions and then those data was analyzed by using Microsoft excel. Majority of them were educated (35%).Heard about breast cancer (77%) & about cervical cancer (72%). Risk factors knowledge in my study, majority of the participants 92.90% recognized genetic factor, followed by 81.29% recognized oral contraceptive use. 80.64% recognized alcohol consumption Majority of population (n=360 ) said that mass media (65.28 %) is the largest source from where they get an information of breast & cervical cancer. Majority of them know about the treatment method of both type of cancer ,where 35.83% chose surgical, 8.61% chose radio therapy,26.67% chose chemotherapy. Among them majority of participants identified genetic factor(92.90 %), 50.96% recognized smoking, 76.12% recognized radiation to the chest, 80.64% recognized alcohol consumption, 81.29% recognized oral contraceptive use, as a risk factor of breast cancer and 89.70% of the participants said family history, 91.17% know about hormonal contraception use as risk factor for cervical cancer. In addition, 41.67 % heard of breast self exam knowledge and only 19.16% of the population said they heard about PAP test which is done for cervical cancer screening test. In this study, findings showed that knowledge & awareness and practice of Breast & Cervical cancer in Bangladesh is still inadequate among women both illiterate and literate. The present situation can become more devastating if early attention is not given. Thus, more educational programs, conferences, public awareness program should be designed to provide comprehensive information and awareness on breast & cervical cancer as it is an alarming issue.