Identifying Women’s Knowledge about Risk Factors of Breast Cancer and Reasons for Having Mammography

The aim of this study was to identify breast cancer risk factors and reasons for having mammography of thewomen who applied for mammography, as well as to determine their level of knowledge about risk factors andlevel of risk perception, and anxiety concerning breast cancer. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conductedfrom June 15, 2010 through September 10, 2010, in a university hospital in Ankara, Turkey. A questionnaireprepared by the researchers was used to collect the data. The mean age of the women was 52.1±9.98 years. Sixteenpercent of the women had a family history of breast cancer. The majority of participants had mammograms(75.8%) before and had gained knowledge about breast cancer and its screening (73.7%). The leading sourceof information about breast cancer was physicians (46.2%). Physician recommendations, having breast-relatedcomplaints, and family history of breast cancer were important reasons to obtain mammography. The meanknowledge score about risk factors of breast cancer was 4.15±2.73 and the mean anxiety score was 1.65±1.61. Itwas found that some socio-demographic and obstetrical characteristics of women, their family history, and riskperceptions about breast cancer affect their knowledge and anxiety scores about breast cancer. In conclusion,the present study identified a number of factors affecting mammography participation for women. The resultsof this study can be helpful in promoting screening for breast cancer.