title: Awareness of breast cancer and screening procedures among Malaysian women.
abstract: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women globally and early detection increases the survival rate of patients. Therefore, this study was done to determine factors which influence the awareness of breast cancer and practice of  screening procedures. A cross-sectional study was performed on 125 women aged 19-60 years in urban and rural areas in Malaysia using a validated  questionnaire covering knowledge of  breast cancer and screening practices. A total of 99.2% respondents knew that breast cancer is the leading  cancer  with a mean knowledge of 67.3 ± 15.3% for urban and 50.2 ± 14.7% for rural women  Mann Whitney U showed rural women had significantly less awareness compared to urban women (p< 0.05). Spearman correlation test showed a significant positive relationship between education and awareness  (p< 0.05). Regarding awareness of the screening methods, 92.8%, 50.4% and 47.2% of respondents correctly answered questions on capability of BSE, CBE and mammography, respectively. In conclusion, the study showed awareness of breast cancer and practice of  screening procedures increases with higher education and urban living.  Therefore, there  is an urgent need for an intensive breast cancer awareness campaign and  availablity of  screening centres  prioritized in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Imaging and Radiotherapy Programme, Faculty of Health Sciences, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. anagakkc@yahoo.com
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Kanaga
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nithiya
authors.forename: M F V  Noor
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Shatirah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D016504:Breast Self-Examination / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult