Abstract
In low–middle-income countries, breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple, practicable, and appropriate tool for breast cancer screening. The goal of this study was to analyze female college students' knowledge and practice of BSE. A cross-sectional study of 200 female students was done using a convenient sampling technique. The self administered questionnaire with the socio-demographic data, questions about knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding BSE was used to collect the data among the female college students of an educational institution. The descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the data. The results show that the level of knowledge on BSE among 77% of the girls was inadequate and 61% of them had negative practice towards BSE. Despite the good attitude (69%) about BSE, there was inadequate knowledge and practice. The participants' age and family history of breast cancer was positively associated with their attitude (p = 0.01) and knowledge (p= 0.05) respectively. The study recommends the mass awareness campaigns related to BSE and early detection of breast cancer to be given to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice of the women and thereby reduce the related morbidity and mortality.
Highlights
In many nations throughout the world, breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer in women, ranking second among cancer diseases and fifth in terms of cancer mortality among women [1]
The self administered questionnaire with the sociodemographic data, questions about knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding breast self-examination (BSE) was used to collect the data among the female college students of an educational institution
Thirty three percent of the girls had the family history of breast cancer, 11% had history of breast related disease like breast tenderness, cyst etc, 24% had the history of using contraceptives/hormonal therapy and 73% had not received any received the information about BSE (Table 1)
Summary
In many nations throughout the world, breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer in women, ranking second among cancer diseases and fifth in terms of cancer mortality among women [1]. Breast selfexamination (BSE) has been shown in several trials to be a simple and effective method for early diagnosis of breast cancer in low–middle income nations. Breast self-examination (BSE) is a non-invasive adjuvant screening technique for early breast cancer diagnosis. It's a good precaution to take when mammography screening isn't available in rural or disadvantaged urban areas [2]. There is evidence that women who appropriately perform BSE monthly are more likely to find lumps at an early stage of development, and early detection has been linked to better outcomes. Breast SelfExamination refers to a woman's awareness of her breasts' typical appearance and feel, as well as looking for changes in size or form, lumps, skin dimpling, redness, discharge, or odd pains [3,4,5]
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