Greek Women’s Knowledge and Attitudes concerning Breast Self-examination

Background: Breast self examination (BSE) is one of the early detection methods for breast cancer, but many women neglect to examine their breasts. Aim: To explore knowledge, attitudes and frequency of BSE in a sample of Greek women. Method: A questionnaire with closed type questions regarding BSE was completed by 100 Greek women aged between 20 and 49 years, coming from Citizen’s Service Centres of the Municipality of Athens during March 2009. The results were analyzed using the x2 method and the statistical program SPSS 13.0. Results: Of the 100 women, 21 performed BSE monthly, whereas 45 reported that a monthly performance of BSE is the recommended policy. The reasons they reported for neglecting to perform BSE were that they were nοt familiar with the technique and that they felt uncomfortable and scared: 21% of the women did not know the correct technique, and 50% were not sure about the monthly interval suggested to be appropriate for the examination. Their most common source of information were health professionals. Conclusions: Women’s knowledge regarding BSE was insufficient. Ignorance and fear were the main obstacles to BSE.