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Abstract
Background: Breast cancer is a leading cause of deaths among women worldwide. Many deaths can be prevented if breast cancer can be detected and treated early. In Pakistan, one in every nine women develops breast cancer some time in her life. Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is an inexpensive method for early detection of breast cancer. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of BSE among non- medical female staff of Shaukat Khanum Memorial cancer Hospital and Research Centre Lahore, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2022. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample size was 83.The SPSS (version 20) was used for data analysis.
Results: The overall response rate was 98.8%. The 91.6% of the participants knew about BSE but only 75.9% had put this in their routine practiced. The most common reason for not practicing breast self- examination, as the participants explained was not knowing the correct time for breast self-examination (43.4%). The majority of the participants agreed that BSE is important in the early detection of breast cancer. Most of the participants were well- aware about breast cancer signs and symptoms (88%). Almost 62.7% employees showed knowledge about the correct frequency of BSE.
Conclusion: Despite a positive attitude was found among the participants toward BSE, its practice was inadequate.Among women who were aware of BSE, they were not practicing very regularly. Therefore, intensive behavioral changes are required through session and seminar for participants, to promote the practice of breast self-examination among the SKMCH &RC non-medical employees.