Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences

Published by : PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL PUBLICATIONS

ISSN 1681-715X

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ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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Volume 25

January - March 2009

Number  1


 

Abstract
PDF of this Article

Breast self-examination as a method of early detection
of breast cancer: Knowledge and practice among
antenatal clinic attendees in South Eastern Nigeria

Stephen Onwere1, Obioha Okoro2, Bright Chigbu3,
Chris Aluka4, Chuks Kamanu5, Adaugo Onwere6

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine antenatal women’s knowledge and practice of breast self-examination as a method of early detection of breast cancer.

Methodology: It is a descriptive study involving 100 consecutive and consenting patients at the antenatal clinic of Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, over the period 1st June, 2007 to 15th June, 2007. Using a structured questionnaire, the respondents’ socio-demographic data were obtained as well as their knowledge of breast cancer, breast self-examination for early detection of breast cancer and the practice of breast self-examination.

Results: The majority (98%) of the women were married. Whilst 78% of the respondents practiced breast self-examination regularly, only 34% of them knew the reason for practising breast self-examination. This means that the breast self-examination practiced was mostly ineffective. Only 3% of the respondents knew about a mammogram whilst none had had a mammogram done in the past. The vast majority (97%) of the respondents had heard of cancer of the breast. Breast self-examination was positively associated with educational level attained.

Conclusion: The level of practice of breast self-examination is very low in our community. Public health programmes that teach women to regularly examine their breast and to seek early treatment for any detected lesions should be publicized through the mass media, seminars, conferences, workshops at the grassroots level and health education at health facilities.

KEY WORDS: Breast, Self-examination, Knowledge, Practice, Women.

Pak J Med Sci    January - March 2009    Vol. 25 No. 1    122-125

How to cite this article:

Onwere S, Okoro O, Chigbu B, Aluka C, Kamanu C, Onwere A. Breast self-examination as a method of early detection of breast cancer: Knowledge and practice among antenatal clinic attendees in South Eastern Nigeria. Pak J Med Sci 2009;25(1):122-125.


1. Stephen Onwere,
2. Obioha Okoro,
3. Bright Chigbu,
4. Chris Aluka,
5. Chuks Kamanu,
1-5: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,
College of Medicine,
Abia State University Teaching Hospital,
PMB 7004, Aba, Abia State, Nigeria.
6. Adaugo Onwere,
Department of Primary Health Care,
Aba South Health Office,
P.O. Box 7006, Aba, Abia State, Nigeria.

Correspondence

Dr. Stephen Onwere,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
College of Medicine,
Abia State University Teaching Hospital,
PMB 7004, Aba,
Abia State,
Nigeria.
E-mail: stephenonwere@yahoo.com

* Received for Publication: July 18, 2008
* Revision Received: November 26, 2008
* Revision Accepted: November 27, 2008


INTRODUCTION

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in many parts of Africa and the leading cause of mortality associated with cancer in African women.1 Although, the true incidence of breast cancer is generally not known in many African countries, several publications indicate a trend towards an increasing incidence of the disease in many parts of Africa.1,2 While very little can be done to limit the main causative risk factors which have been documented in epidemiological studies,3-5 important advances have been made in strategies for early detection and in therapeutic interventions which may contribute to more favourable outcomes for breast cancer patients.6

Several studies have shown that barriers to diagnosis and treatment can be addressed by increasing women’s awareness of breast cancer.7 A positive correlation also exists between breast cancer awareness & screening practice.8

There is a paucity of data on the knowledge of breast cancer, knowledge and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) in Aba. It is against this background that in a first of many studies on the prevention of cancer of the breast, it was decided to examine the knowledge of breast cancer and the knowledge and practice of BSE among these antenatal women as a first step towards the introduction of intervention programmes which are currently non existent.

If the practice of breast self-examination is found to be low in this study, the information obtained will enable us to design culturally sensitive health education materials that will be useful in preventing mortality from breast cancer in Nigeria. Hence, the need for the study.

METHODOLOGY

This was a hospital based descriptive study done between 1st June, 2007 and 15th June, 2007 at the ante-natal clinic of Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba. One hundred consecutive antenatal women who gave informed consent to participate in the study were enrolled. A structured questionnaire was administered to elicit demographic data, knowledge of breast cancer, breast self-examination and the practice of breast self-examination.

On completion of the administration of the questionnaires, the ante-natal women were taught how to practice breast self-examination as follows:

a) while standing, raise your left arm. Using your right hand and beginning at the outer edge of the breast, press the flat part of the fingers in small circles, moving slowly around your breast and towards the nipple. Give attention also to the area between your underarm and breast.

b) Lying flat, position a pillow under your left shoulder, and place the left arm over or behind your head. Use the same circular motion as described earlier. Repeat the procedure for the right side.

c) Gently squeeze your nipple to check for any discharge. Carry out the same procedure for the right breast.

Data analysis included descriptive statistics for demographic data and content analysis for interview data. Data generated was analyzed using SPSS version 10. P< 0.05 was considered significant. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethical committee of Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, Nigeria. All the participating antenatal women gave informed consent.

RESULTS

A total of one hundred consecutive antenatal clinic attendees were recruited for the study. Table-I shows the socio-demographic characteristics. Two participants were teenagers, fifty were between 20-29 years old, forty six were between 30 and 39 years old and two were between 40 and 49 years old. Majority of the study women (98%) were married.

Whilst 78% of the respondents practiced BSE regularly, only 34% of them knew the reason for practicing breast self-examination. This means that the breast self-examination practiced was mostly ineffective. Only 3% of the respondents knew about a mammogram whilst none had had a mammogram done in the past. The vast majority (97%) of the respondents had heard of cancer of the breast. Breast self-examination was positively associated with educational level attained (Table-II).

DISCUSSION

Breast cancer screening can involve a number of different types of examinations, which include breast self examination, clinical breast examination, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound.9 Screening mammography is widely practiced in the developed world but is expensive and beyond the reach of most patients in Nigeria and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.10 In populations such as ours where mammography is not widely available as a screening modality, breast self-examination becomes particularly important. However, BSE remains the most controversial of commonly recommended strategies for breast cancer screening.11 Some studies have shown an association with earlier diagnosis of breast cancer12-16 & others failing to do so.17-19 However, researchers in Egypt, consistent with most published reports,11,12,14 found that BSE performers regardless of the regularity or quality of the practice were three times more likely to have their breast tumours diagnosed at an earlier stage. Foster and Costanza (1984) reported a 5-year survival rate of 75% in women with breast cancer for women who performed BSE compared with 57% in those who did not.12 Breast examination is the predominant method of detecting breast cancer in Australia where mammographic screening accounts for 30% of detected breast cancers and the remainder being found by the women themselves and their medical advisers.20 BSE may be seen in this context as an easy and free, evidence –based modality of breast cancer screening in a low resource setting such as ours.

Although 78% of the respondents in our study regularly examined their breasts, 34% of them knew what BSE screened for, meaning that the BSE practiced was largely ineffective. In an Iranian study, 63% of the respondents claimed that they knew how to examine their breast, but only 6% performed BSE monthly.21 Only 10.4% of patients in an Egyptian study reported any BSE and 2.65% practiced it monthly.11 Thus, the frequency and quality of BSE in our community and that of these other developing countries are inadequate. BSE is an easy and cost effective method of early detection of breast cancer and should be integrated into the existing public health policies. Public Health programmes that teach women to regularly examine their breasts and to seek early treatment for any detected lesions should be publicized through the mass media and through seminars, conferences, workshops at the grassroots level and health education at health facilities. Physicians should also be taught to instruct their patients in the technique of BSE and advise them to report for medical evaluation if a mass or other abnormality is detected.22

In conclusion, regular BSE is a cost-effective method of making an early recognition of breast cancer. The widespread introduction of BSE in our community will improve the prevention of breast cancer and contribute to a reduction in mortality in women.

REFERENCES

1. Adebamowo CA, Adekunle OO. A case control study of the epidemiological risk factors for breast cancer in Nigeria. British J Sur 1999;86(5):665-8.

2. Boulos S, Godallah M, Neguib S. Breast Screening in the emerging world. High prevalence of Breast Cancer in Cairo, Egypt. Breast 2005;14(5):340-6.

3. Negri E. Risk factors for Breast Cancer: Pooled results from three Italian case-control studies. Amer J Epidemiology 1988;128(6):1207-15.

4. Brignone G. A case control study on breast cancer risk factors in a Southern European Population. Intern J Epidemiology 1987;16(3):356-61.

5. Kelsey JL, Gammon MD. Epidemiology of breast Cancer. Epidemiologic reviews 1990;12:228-40.

6. Saghir NS. Breast Cancer Screening: recommendations and controversies. Lebanese Med J 1997;45(4):206-11.

7. McMichael C, Kirk M, Manderson L, Hoban E, Potts H. Indigeneous women’s perceptions of Breast Cancer diagnosis and treatment in Queensland. Aust NZJ Pub Health 2000;24:515-9.

8. Stager JL. The comprehensive Breast Cancer Knowledge Test: validity and reliability. J Adv Nurs 1993;18:1133-40.

9. ACS Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer centre. 2006.

10. Okobia MN. Breast Cancer in Nigeria: An overview. Women’s Health and Action Research Centre, Benin city, 2000.

11. Abdel-Fattah M, Zaki A, Bassili A, El-Shady, Tongoni G. Breast Self-examination practice and its impact on breast cancer diagnosis in Alexandria, Egypt. East Mediterranean Health J 2000;6(1):34-40.

12. Foster Jr RS, Costanza MC. Breast-self examination practice and breast cancer survival. Cancer 1984;53(4):999-1005.

13. Tamburini M. Usefulness of breast self-examination for an early detection of breast cancer results of a study on 500 breast cancer patients and 652 controls. Tumouri 1981;67(3):219-24.

14. Smith EM, Francis AM, Polissar L. The effect of breast self-examination practices and physician examinations on extent of disease at diagnosis. Preventive Medicine 1980;9(3):409-17.

15. Huguley Jr CM, Brown RL. The value of breast self-examination. Cancer 1981;47(5):989-95.

16. Feldman JG. Breast self-examination, relationship to stage of breast cancer at diagnosis. Cancer 1981;47(11):2740-5.

17. Senie RT. Breast self-examination and medical examination related to breast cancer stage. Amer J Public Health 1981;71(6):583-90.

18. Smith EM, Burns TL. The effects of breast self-examination in a population-based cancer registry: A report of differences in extent of disease. Cancer 1985;55(2):432-7.

19. Semiglazov VF. The role of breast self-examination in early breast cancer detection (results of the 5-year USSR/WHO randomized study in Leningrad). European J Epidemiology 1992;8(4):498-502.

20. Crossing S, Manaszewicz. Breast self-examination: Be alert but not alarmed? Med J Australia 2003;178(12):646-7.

21. Hagi-Mahmoodi M, Montazeri A, Jarvandi S. Breast self-examination; Knowledge, Attitudes and practices among female Health Care Workers in Tehran, Iran. The Breast J 2002;8(4):222-25.

22. Okonofua FE, Iribhogbe P. Prevention of Breast Cancer in African women. African J Reproductive Health 2006;10(1):7-8.


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