BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, BURLA, ODISHA

Abstract

In India, cancer prevalence is estimated around 2.5 million, with over 0.8 million new cases and 0.5 million deaths occurring each year. The common sites for cancer in India for females are cervix, breast, and oral cavity. Breast cancer accounts for 19%–34% of all cancer cases among women in India. Our objective of study was to assess the awareness of  breast cancer and its risk factors among females of reproductive age group due to the worrisome scenario of rising incidence of breast cancer in India in that particular age group. This cross? sectional study was carried out in 200 Sambalpur University students in the age group 18–30 years after taking informed consent from them. A self? administered pretested questionnaire was used to collect the relevant details. Care was also taken to ensure privacy and confidentiality. The most common source of information about breast cancer features and risk factors was found to be Internet 96(49.7%); friends and family 90(46.6%); TV 83(45.8%). 87(45%) of respondents said that smoking is the risk factor for breast cancer, followed by alcohol consumption 81(41.1%), radiotherapy 59(30.5%), trauma to breast area 55(28.4%), abstinence from breast feeding 55(28.4%).

Keywords: Breast cancer, Radiotherapy, Risk factor