Awareness of breast cancer in women of an urban resettlement colony.
BACKGROUND
Breast cancer accounts for 19-34% of all cancer cases among women in India. There is a high mortality due to late stage diagnosis as patients usually present at an advanced stage because of lack of awareness and non-existent breast cancer screening programs. Aim : To determine the awareness about breast cancer among women in an urban resettlement colony in Delhi.


METHODS
A community based, cross-sectional study carried out in a resettlement colony in South Delhi.


METHODS
Semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect information regarding breast cancer. Modified Kuppuswamy scale was used for assessing the socio-economic status.


CONCLUSIONS
A total of 333 women were included. The mean age was 36 years+/-15.1 and 46% were illiterate. Only 185 (56%) women were aware of breast cancer; among them, 51% knew about at least one of the signs /symptoms, 53% were aware that breast cancer can be detected early, and only 35% mentioned about risk factors. Thus, awareness about breast cancer is low amongst women in this community. There is a need for awareness generation programs to educate women about breast cancer, propagation of correct messages and promote early detection of breast cancer.
Somdatta
P
P
Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, New Delhi-110 029, India. somdattap@gmail.com
Baridalyne
N
N
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult