Breast cancer screening among women of child-bearing age

Daphne Munyaradzi1, James January, Julita Maradzika

  • 1a Department of Community Medicine, College of Health Sciences , University of Zimbabwe , Harare , Zimbabwe.

We explored behavioral factors that contributed to late presentation of breast cancer. A cross-sectional survey of 120 women of child-bearing age was employed, and data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires addressing predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors associated with breast cancer screening. A total of 53.5% knew what breast cancer screening was; breast self-exam was the most commonly known form of screening, although only 7.5% practiced it. Lack of awareness (p =.004) and the knowledge of someone who previously had breast cancer (p =.0004) were prominent predictors for breast cancer screening, leading to either delay in or early presentation of the condition, respectively.

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