Level of Awareness, Screening Practices, and Self-Detection Among Breast Cancer Patients

Objective: Having good knowledge and performing regular pre-tests under physician supervision play a crucial role in the early detection of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of awareness, frequency of performing routine screening, types of screening methods prior to detection, and who detected the case, among women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study that used a designed questionnaire applied to investigate demographic data and four other aspects: level of awareness, screening practices, type of screening methods used, and who detected the case for the first time. Women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and registered at Nanakali Hospital were included.

Results: A total of 150 women participated. Most of the participants (80%) had no previous knowledge regarding causes, signs and symptoms, or detection methods, while only 20% had little information. Among the participants, most (87.3%) did not undergo any pre-tests before the time of diagnosis, while only 12.7% did pre-test at least once. The screening methods used prior to the diagnosis were: breast self-exam (n=9); ultrasonography (n=8), and only two had mammography. Detecting the case for the first time, 68.7% of the cases were detected by chance or accidentally, and 31.3% were detected by physicians.

Conclusion: The level of awareness and performance of routine screening differ greatly among different populations and countries. Women in Erbil, generally have a low level of awareness and insufficient knowledge regarding breast cancer; most women do not undertake any regular screening for early detection of this cancer compared to Western countries. Having previous knowledge and doing pre-tests regularly play a key role in the early detection of this cancer, which minimizes the consequences.