The impact of breast cancer awareness and socioeconomic status on willingness to receive breast cancer prevention drugs.

PURPOSE: To find associations between knowledge about risk factors for breast cancer and the socioeconomic status of healthy women, as well as their attitude toward taking chemopreventive drugs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between April and September 1999, 7135 healthy women completed questionnaires providing information about their willingness to take chemopreventive drugs. Items in the questionnaire included the sources of the information they had, their estimates of the population and personal lifetime risk, and risk factors for breast cancer. RESULTS: A total of 6597 questionnaires were evaluable. The responders' median age was 44. Fifty-five percent of the women were willing to consider receiving chemopreventive drugs to lower their risk for breast cancer. Participants who estimated the population risk as being very high were more disposed to receive chemoprevention (65.3%), as were women who estimated their own breast cancer risk as being high (74.1%). A family history of breast cancer only had a low impact on willingness to receive chemoprevention. Women with a family history of breast cancer were willing to take chemopreventive agents in 57.2% of cases. The multivariate analysis showed that knowing about risk factors and having a lower educational level were factors positively correlated with willingness to consider chemoprevention. CONCLUSION: These findings emphasize the role of estimations of the risk of breast cancer for patients considering whether to accept chemoprevention treatment. To date, only a few modern models of risk estimation have been evaluated in relation to chemoprevention. There is a need for better integration of professional risk estimations into clinical practice.

User experience with an oral contraceptive containing ethinylestradiol 30mug and drospirenone 3mg (yasmin((r))) in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the reasons why women chose the combined oral contraceptive (COC) containing ethinylestradiol 30mug and drospirenone 3mg, their perception of it, and their satisfaction with it when used in clinical practice. METHODS: This was an uncontrolled survey of women using the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC in 15 European countries from September to December 2004. The women were invited to participate in this study by their general practitioner, gynecologist, or other family planning provider. The women were asked to complete a four-part questionnaire retrospectively about why they chose the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC and their experiences with it. RESULTS: A total of 10 947 questionnaires were returned and included in the analysis. Of the respondents, 7694 (70%) had switched to the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC from other oral contraceptives. About two-thirds (6797 [62%]) of respondents stated that they felt better while using the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC compared with the time before they started using it. The severity of premenstrual symptoms including depressed mood, irritability, breast tenderness or pain, abdominal bloating or swelling, skin and hair problems, and swelling of the extremities all improved during treatment with the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC. Overall, 10 441 (95%) respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC and 9016 (82%) would recommend it to a friend. CONCLUSION: The additional non-contraceptive benefits of the ethinylestradiol 30mug/drospirenone 3mg COC are important factors that influence patients' perceptions of this oral contraceptive and their satisfaction with its use.

Demographic and psychosocial factors associated with risk perception for breast cancer.

The objective of this study was to investigate, in a female population-based sample, specific demographic and psychosocial predictors of perception of risk for female breast cancer. The study was a cross-sectional survey of 7135 healthy women ranging from 15 to 85 years. A questionnaire assessed the perceived risk for breast cancer in 6 German centers. Specified awareness was personal knowledge in relation to breast cancer incidence, risk factors, perception, and level of concern. An awareness score was defined and related to values of several risk factors. Generally, 78.1% of women were aware of breast cancer. However, only one-third (31.2%) of women estimated the incidence of breast cancer correctly; 52% recognized age, 33.9% recognized hormonal contraceptives, and 34.1% recognized hormonal replacement therapy as factors of breast cancer risk. The most frequent specified sources of information were gynecologists (48.4%). The awareness score of women informed by gynecologists was significantly better compared to women informed by other healthcare professionals. However, a statistically significant improvement of the awareness score was reached for women with a higher educational level, information seeking by TV, radio, printed sources, medical books and healthcare flyers. Recommendations for improvement of cancer prevention programs include targeting comprehension regarding the lifetime risk of breast cancer, age as a risk factor, survival from breast cancer and hormonal factors. According to these results, there is an urgent need to separately address the perceptions of women, depending on age, social status and educational level.