Breast Cancer Awareness in Myanmar: Results of a Hospital-based Study in Mandalay

Background: Although breast cancer is an important health problem inMyanmar, awareness of breast health has not been widely described.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to exploreawareness of early signs and risk factors of breast cancer among outpatientattendees at the Mandalay Central Women Hospital.Results: A total of ۴۰۲ respondents with mean age of ۳۱.۴±۹.۰ yearsparticipated in the study. More than half of the respondents (۶۵.۹%) were aware ofbreast lumps as a breast cancer sign. Nearly half (۴۲% to ۴۸.۷%) of the respondentswere aware of the various risk factors of breast cancer. Although ۵۴.۱% had heardof breast self-examination, only ۲۵.۳% had knowledge of mammograms. Olderwomen (age ۴۹ years or more) had significantly better awareness of two earlybreast cancer signs; change of breast shape (۵۴.۱% vs ۳۹.۹%) and discharge fromnipple (۴۹.۲% vs ۳۳.۴%). Those with less than high school education hadsignificantly lower awareness of the following signs of breast cancer; thickeningof the breast skin (۳۹.۳ % vs ۲۰.۴۵%), dimpling of the breast skin (۴۳.۲% vs۲۴.۶%), change of breast shape (۵۲.۵% vs ۳۵.۲%), and discharge from nipple(۴۴.۹% vs ۳۱.۹%). They also displayed significantly lower awareness of riskfactors of breast cancer.Conclusion: Among the study respondents, only one third had heard of selfbreastexamination and only a few (۱۰%) examined both breasts regularly. Greaterawareness of breast health and breast cancer screening should be imparted topromote breast health among women in Myanmar.

کلیدواژه ها:

Breast cancer ، risk factors ، female outpatient attendees ، Myanmar