| ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2016 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 58-68 |
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Knowledge towards breast cancer among Libyan women in Tripoli
YA Taher1, AM Samud2, GM Benhusein1
1 Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya
2 Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Faculty of Medical Technology, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya
Correspondence Address:
Y A Taher
Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Tripoli, Tripoli
Libya
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.21502/limuj.007.01.2016
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Introduction: Breast cancer in women is the commonest type of cancer worldwide. However, in Libya, ordinary systematic screening for breast cancer is neglected.
Aim: The present study was aimed to evaluate the women's knowledge towards breast cancer and its risk factors.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey, using self-administered questionnaire and face-to-face interviews was conducted at different places in Tripoli city along a period of nine months, from April-December 2013.
Results: The mean age (±bSD) of the participating women was 48±b5 years and out of 284 contributors 84.5% were married. One hundred and eighty women (63.4%) stated that long-term use of contraceptive pills (> 5 years) increases the incidence rate of breast cancer. Besides, more than half of participants (157 women) specified that breast cancer is treated by surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, although 50.7% of women reported that mammography and ultrasound are used for early detection, more than 60% of women believed that mammogram can cause cancer. In addition, our data demonstrate that increased knowledge was associated with women who know how to do self-examination and living in urban area.
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that Libyan women have acceptable level of knowledge regarding breast cancer. However, improvement of the health systems and awareness regarding breast cancer is needed.
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