Abstract
Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Turkey and worldwide, and is ranked as the second-leading cause of death in women after lung cancer. Early diagnosis of breast cancer is possible, and breast cancer is included in cancer-screening programs in Turkey. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of young women (older than 20 years of age) on breast self-examination and breast cancer screening methods, and to determine the effect of sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A total of 489 patients were included in the study. The mean age of participants was 36.53 ± 11.22 years. 346 (70.8%) of the participants were married. The study was a cross-sectional, non-randomized study in public health. The participants in this study were women over 20 years old, who presented to Arnavutkoy State Hospital General surgery policlinic and Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Family Medicine policlinic. Results: The rate and duration of breastfeeding were higher among participants living in rural areas than those living in urban areas (p<0.001) The awareness of breast cancer increased as the level of education increased (p<0.001). Having a family history of a high incidence of breast cancer significantly increased the rate of breast self examination practice by 1.93 fold (p=0.016). Conclusion: Breast Cancer is a disease that can be treated 100 % with early diagnosis. Primary care physicians especially works in lower socioeconomic conditions have to tell the importance of early diagnosis of breast cancer, and properly explain breast self examination and other screening tools.