Poor breast cancer awareness among UK women


Wednesday 1st October, 2008

New research has discovered that older women in the UK have poor awareness of breast cancer.

The new findings point toward an effort to increase knowledge of breast cancer symptoms particularly among older women who are at an increased risk of developing the condition.

The study involved a national survey carried out by St. Thomas’ Hospital, London. 712 women aged between 67 and 73 years were questioned about their awareness of breast cancer.

Of those women surveyed, 85% were aware that a lump on the breast could be an indicator of the development of breast cancer but many had poor knowledge of the other symptoms associated with the disease.

Under half knew that a change in size of a breast, skin redness and nipple rash could also be signs of breast cancer. And knowledge of breast cancer risk was also poor among respondents with 50% believing risk of developing the condition was 1 in 100 when the actual risk is 1 in 9.

31% of the women surveyed said they have low confidence in checking their breasts for any abnormalities and 19% rarely, if ever, checked their breasts for lumps.

Highly educated women were also found to be less likely to check their breasts than those with few or no qualifications.

“The results of the survey indicate that although older women demonstrate some knowledge of the symptoms and risks associated with breast cancer, there was poor awareness about important issues, particularly among those who were less educated,” said Dr Louise Linsell in the British Journal of Cancer.

“Raising breast cancer awareness and promoting early presentation among older women is important, as they are more at risk of breast cancer and more likely to delay seeking help with breast cancer symptoms than younger women.”

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