Awareness, Knowledge and Practices of Breast Cancer Prevention among Women with Family History of Breast Cancer in Ede, Osun State, Nigeria

Women with Family History (FH) of Breast Cancer (BRCA) in first-degree relative have a relative risk >4 due to inherited genetic mutation genes. This study therefore assessed knowledge and practices of BRCA prevention among women with FH of BRCA in the study area. This is a cross-sectional study. Snowball sampling technique was used to select 189 women with FH of BRCA. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtained data and Descriptive statistics and t-test were used for the analysis. Respondents mean age was 43.4±9.2 years. Some (42.9%) were not aware of their susceptibility to BRCA. Some (42.9%) of respondents have family members who had died of BRCA and 13.2% have family members who currently have BRCA. Many (61.4%) believed that BRCA is not curable even when detected early and 65.1% did not know that painless lump in the breast is one of the signs of BRCA. Preventive practices among respondents included regular taking of herbs (67.5%) and breastfeeding for longer than 1 year (14.5%). Majority (96.3%) and 38.6% have never performed mammogram and breast self examination respectively. Incorrect preventive practices existed among respondents. Information, education and communication programme on breast cancer prevention should be intensified for these women.