The Usage and Knowledge of Mammogram among Women inSub-Urban Area in Terengganu, Malaysia

Introduction: Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women today and the major challenge is late presentationthen later contributes to poor outcome and high fatality rate. Mammography is effective in early detection ofbreast cancer and consequently significantly improves the breast cancer survival. Materials and
Methods: Thiscross-sectional study was used to study the knowledge and awareness towards mammogram amongst womenaged 15 years old and above. A systemic random sampling was applied and information gathered through guidedinterview by using a structured questionnaire.
Results: Eighty-six respondents were recruited. The mean age ofrespondents was 40.5 years (SD: 15.51) and more than 80% had secondary and tertiary level of education. Thepercentage of respondents ever performed mammogram was 10.5% (95% CI: 4.0%-17.0%). The rate of correctanswers was between 8.1% and 48.8%. Most of the respondents do not sure the answer (45.3%-61.6%) ratherthan wrongly answer (4.7%-43.0%). Only about 8% truly answer that mammogram should be done once in alife. There are 10.5% of women claimed that mammogram had no serious side effect and not a painful procedure.Nearly half of respondents (48.8%) correctly mentioned that Mammogram can detect breast cancer in earlystage.
Conclusion: Only a small percentage of women ever performed mammogram and there are seriouslyunaware and poor knowledge pertaining to mammography screening for breast cancer among women in suburban area. A massive health education campaign through multiple methods and agencies are needed to enhancethe knowledge and awareness on mammogram.