Breast cancer awareness in young women - a national survey 2014

NMUH Staff Publications

EMBASE

41

<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; text-decoration-color: initial;">Aims: CoppaFeel! is a charity improving breast cancer awareness in young women. With funding from the charity, a national survey of young women's perceptions of breast cancer was conducted. It looked at attitudes to the risk of developing breast cancer, knowledge of the symptoms, the degree of self-checking for signs of breast cancer and the perceived barriers to accessing medical advice. Finally, we assessed the impact of breast awareness charities. Methods: Between 27th June and 9th July 2014, 1337 women were randomly surveyed online nationwide. The questionnaire consisted of 43 questions and was carried out by Vision Critical, an independent market research company. Inclusion criteria were women aged 18-30 years with a mix of working status and social class. 328 (25%) were students where CoppaFeel! has on site university presence. Results: In summary, 22% felt there was a chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes. 58% felt confident recognising the signs and symptoms of breast cancer yet 68% had never checked their breasts. 39% felt the biggest barrier to accessing medical advice was concern over wasting the doctor's time. 26% reported being prompted to self-check by television programmes, 9% by charities and 8% by doctors. Conclusions: Despite being the most common cancer diagnosed in women under 40, a vast proportion of young women have a poor understanding of breast cancer, its signs and symptoms, how to check their breasts and when to seek medical advice. CoppaFeel! was founded for these reasons and continues to educate and empower young women.</span> [Conference abstract]</span>