Awareness of Breast self-examination and risk factors of Breast Cancer among Women

Performing breast self-examination (BSE) every month, starting at age 20 is an important tool in the early detection of breast cancer. Early detection of breast cancer plays a leading role in reducing mortality rates and improving patients ’prognosis.

The purpose of the current study was to determine women's ’practice of BSE and knowledge about risk factors of breast cancer.

A descriptive study design was used, with a sample of convenience 112 women in pachampalyam community area between January and March 2015. A self administered questionnaire was used for data collection.

mean age of the respondents was 29.5; (SD=8.3) years and ranged from 35 to 45 years. More than half of the studied group married and 47.3% worked for more than 5 years 95.5% had no previous breast health problems and family history of breast cancer was reported by 12.5%. Only 19.4% of the studied sample performed BSE regularly. The practice of BSE was not significantly associated with socio demographic characteristics.

study findings suggested that there were gaps between knowledge and practice of BSE among women's.