Awareness and Knowledge of Breast Cancer and Breast Examination amongst Undergraduate Students. Mixed Method Approach

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer death amongst women, and the stage at presentation has been found to be an important prognostic index. The study aims to assess breast cancer awareness, including breast cancer education and knowledge of breast self-examination, among undergraduate students with the hope of improving their knowledge of breast cancer.

The study used the mixed method approach, to evaluate during breast cancer awareness month. All consenting participants completed a pre-test questionnaire before a breast health seminar, after which the post-test questionnaire was filled out. Consenting participants also had clinical breast examinations performed on them. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24.

One hundred and thirteen participants filled out the pre-test questionnaire while 127 participants filled out the post-test. There was a significant change following the seminar. About 87.9% of respondents knew about breast cancer but had poor knowledge of the predisposing factors (11.3%). Most participants (94.3%) knew about self-breast examination (SBE), however, only 46% examined themselves in the past with only 21% aware of the correct timing for SBE. Clinical breast exams were conducted on 80 participants, six (7.5%) breast lumps were found and two had excision biopsies with histopathology diagnosis of fibroadenoma.

Breast education is important, as knowledge about breast cancer is still low, even among undergraduate students. Continuous breast education should be encouraged.