Awareness and knowledge of breast cancer and its screening methods among female undergraduate Allied Health Science students of a college in semi urban Chennai

ABSTRACT

Background: Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the second most common cancer overall. There were over 2 million new cases in 2018 diagnosed worldwide. The Indian Council of Medical Research found that an estimated 1.5 lakh new cases of breast cancer were reported in 2016, making it the most common cancer among Indians.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted with the total sample size of 256 female participants which includes first year to interns. Pre-designed semi structured questionnaire was given to the students. The knowledge was assessed in terms of risk factors, symptoms, methods of diagnosis and self-breast examination. The statistical analysis used was MS Excel 2019.Results: Out of 256 female undergraduate Allied health science students, 142 (55.47%) had good knowledge while 114 (44.53%) had poor awareness and knowledge about breast cancer and its screening methods.Conclusions: As many of the students have low knowledge on breast cancer and its screening techniques. Hence some activities on breast cancer should be planned to improve the awareness among Allied health science students.