Abstract
Background & Objectives: Breast cancer is the second leading reason for cancer death in women. Incidence rates of male breast cancer have increased by 0.2- 1% per year. The lack of knowledge and awareness of male breast cancer leads to its detection at a late stage in men. This study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of south Indian adults towards male and female breast cancer.
Methods: To assess the knowledge and attitude of adults on breast cancer, a questionnaire regarding basic knowledge and attitudes was formulated using Google forms. Numbers and percentages were formed to review categorical and nominal data. Chi-square (χ2) test was used for the comparison between the awareness of
female breast cancer and male breast cancer. P <0.05 was set as the level of significance.
Results: A total of 352 respondents enrolled in the study. 248 (70.5%) were females and 104 (29.5%) were males. A good number of participants 340 (96.6%) were aware of female breast cancer and only 118 (33.5%) of the participants heard about male breast cancer. An unsatisfactory number of participants perform breast
self-examination once a month and start mammogram screening at the age of 40.
Interpretation and Conclusions: Female breast cancer awareness was increased but lack of knowledge of screening techniques like breast self-examination and mammography doesn’t decrease the prevalence of female breast cancer. Male breast cancer awareness was very poor and unsatisfactory. Educational training on
screening techniques and community awareness programs should be conducted to decrease breast cancer prevalence.
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