Breast cancer awareness and practice of breast self examination among women in Adiabo community in Odukpani local government area of Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the cell of the breast and continues to remain the most lethal malignancy in women across the world. The purpose of the study was to investigate breast cancer awareness and practice of breast self examination among women in Adiabo Community in Odukpani Local Government Area.

Methods: The study adopted a cross sectional design.  Multistage random sampling technique was used to select 345 women used in the study. Questionnaire was instrument for data collection and the chi-square test analysis was used to test the relationship between variables.

Results: One hundred and sixty (46.4%) respondents were aware of breast cancer and 155(45%) respondents were aware of breast self examination. One hundred and fifty (43.5%) respondents practised breast self examination. Findings also revealed a positive significant association between breast cancer awareness and practice of breast self examination.

Conclusions: The study concluded that there was low awareness of breast cancer and inadequate practice of breast self examination by respondents. It was recommended that emphasis should be placed on importance of breast self examination as a key factor in the early detection of breast cancer among women in rural communities.