ABSTRACT
Introduction: In Cameroon and most African countries, breast cancer (BC) is mainly diagnosed at an advanced stage, leading to worse prognosis and disease consequences. This is partly due to the delayed presentation of patients, which constitutes a significant barrier to the effective management of the disease. The aim of this descriptive, cross-sectional study is to identify the level of awareness of breast cancer and screening practice among women and health professionals in the city of Ngaoundere, Cameroon. Methods: Women and medical personnel were randomly recruited in two health institutions in the Adamawa region, Cameroon: the Ngaoundere Regional Hospital and the Ngaoundere Protestant Hospital. Two different questionnaires were prepared. The first was to collect sociodemographic data and assess participants' awareness of BC and related symptoms. The second was to collect information from the recommended screening methods for early detection of cases, including the frequency of screening practice among women and the daily practice of medical personnel. Results: Out of the women surveyed, 88.05 % have heard of breast cancer, but the majority were unaware of its clinical signs (47.1 %) and the means of treatment (22 %). In the studied population, 66.4 % were aware of the screening, but the practice was very low, as only 1.1 % of women had ever undergone screening by mammography and only 6 % often practiced breast self-examination (BSE). The levels of screening knowledge and practice were significantly associated with the level of education and employment status (P = 0.0001). In the group of 94 health personnel surveyed, 68.1 % had no knowledge of breast cancer screening methods, and only 30 % performed breast cancer screening in their daily practice. The practice of BSE during the study allowed a detection of 2 % of screened women with some suspicious clinical signs. Conclusion: This study revealed a lack of knowledge about BC and its screening methods and practice among women and health personnel in Ngaoundere. This lack of knowledge constitutes a significant barrier to early diagnosis of BC. There is a need to raise awareness and provide education and information about BC screening.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Late diagnosis has been observed as the hallmark of breast cancer in Cameroonian women where over 70% of patients report with either stage III or IV of the disease, with high mortality and dire socioeconomic consequences. The present study was undertaken to assess the awareness of breast cancer, warning signs and screening methods among Health professionals and general population of Douala. Methods: Participants included in this study were health practitioners and women randomly selected and enrolled in six health facilities in the city of Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon. A self-administered questionnaire was designed for each group and aimed at assessing their knowledge about breast cancer, warning signs and screening practices. Then, 616 women underwent breast palpation, followed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) when a nodule was found. Results: Out of a total of 737 participants (121 health personnel and 616 women) interviewed, a majority (96.3%) were aware of the disease with the main source of information being the hospital (76.0%), media (47.1%) and vocational training schools (45.4%) for health personnel; medias (39.9%), health professionals (26.1%) and their entourage (21.9%) for the population. Health workforce presented suitable awareness of the risk factors for breast cancer and its clinical signs even though 37.1% of them had misconceptions and myth-based ideas on the origin of the disease. Both the population and health personnel were aware of the possibility of early screening for breast cancer and cited breast self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography as screening techniques. Nonetheless, screening practice amongst all women is very poor and mainly due to ignorance, high cost of mammography, together with a lack of mastery of the BSE technique and the fear of actually discovering signs of the disease. Conclusion: Our findings show lack of awareness and low practice of breast cancer screening amongst women in Douala and highlight the need to raise awareness and provide the right information to the public for early detection of breast cancer.
ABSTRACT
Breast cancer has become a real public health problem in Cameroon, particularly in rural areas due to late diagnosis, resulting partly from the absence of national screening programs. This work is aimed at assessing breast cancer awareness in the North Region of Cameroon. Participants were selected in six health centers surrounding the rural area of Garoua, North Region, Cameroon, and administered a questionnaire aimed at assessing their awareness about breast cancer risk factors and screening. Out of the 475 women (including 37 medical personnel) interviewed, 45.5% attended at least secondary school; 91.3% were aware of the disease with the main sources of information from those around them (64.8%), media (46.5%), and health professionals in health facilities (42.7%). 23.3% had misconceptions and myth-based ideas on the origin of the disease. Ignorance was the main reason preventing the performance of breast self-examination, and the high cost prevents individuals from going for mammography. The highest awareness rate was observed in employed women with higher level of education. Our study highlights the need to raise awareness among the populations in North Region, Cameroon, about the risk factors and clinical signs of breast cancer and the importance of screening practice for early diagnosis of breast cancer.
