Knowledge and attitudes of woman on breast cancer prevention

Rak dojke najčešća je zloćudna bolest i glavni uzrok smrti kod žena. U Hrvatskoj svakoj jedanaestoj ženi prijeti obolijevanje od raka dojke, a očekuje se da će taj broj i dalje rasti. Najrizičnija skupina su žene starije od pedeset godina, ali u novije vrijeme sve više obolijevaju i mlađe žene. Uzroci nastanka raka dojke još uvijek nisu u potpunosti poznati, ali dugogodišnje studije izdvojile su rizične čimbenike koji zasigurno utječu na njegov nastanak. To su način življenja, hormonalni status, antropometrijske značajke, zračenje te genetska predispozicija. Do sumnje na rak dojke najčešće se dolazi samopregledom dojki. Preporuka je da žene, već u ranoj mladosti, jedanput mjesečno pregledavaju dojke kako bi primijetile eventualne promjene. Osim samopregleda, žene bi trebale redovito obavljati klinički pregled i mamografiju. Liječnik specijalist može, radi postavljanja konačne dijagnoze, zatražiti i dodatne pretrage. Liječenje je vrlo kompleksno, a najbolje rezultate daje kirurško u kombinaciji sa sistemskim i zračenjem. U Republici Hrvatskoj Nacionalnim programom ranog otkrivanja raka dojke obuhvaćene su sve žene u dobi od 50 do 69 godina. U sklopu programa žene imaju mogućnost obaviti besplatni mamografski pregled svake dvije godine. Cilj je programa otkriti rak u ranom stadiju te smanjiti smrtnost. Cilj je rada ispitati znanje i stavove žena o prevenciji raka dojke. Istraživanje je provedeno putem interneta. Sudjelovale su 1063 žene. Upitnik je sastavljen za potrebe ovog istraživanja, a sadrži 33 pitanja. Rezultati pokazuju kako s godinama tendencija samopregleda raste. Generalno, s porastom stupnja obrazovanja dolazi i do porasta znanja o raku dojke, no kod više stručne spreme prema visokoj dolazi do stagnacije. Obrazovanije žene u manjoj mjeri smatraju kako su žene u Republici Hrvatskoj dobro informirane o raku dojke. Također, utvrđeno je kako žene s različitom razinom obrazovanja navode različite razloge slabijeg odaziva na mamografske preglede. Stanovnice grada pokazuju bolje znanje o raku dojke te veću tendenciju samopregleda od stanovnica sela. Utvrđeno je kako sudionice koje smatraju da je glavni razlog slabijeg odaziva loša financijska situacija imaju slabije znanje o raku dojke od onih koje smatraju da je glavni razlog nedovoljna informiranost ili nemar za zdravlje. Žene koje se odazivaju na mamografske preglede također imaju višu razinu tendencije samopregleda od žena koje se nisu odazivale. Važno je, već od najranije dobi educirati žene o raku dojke i njegovoj prevenciji. Ako se rak otkrije u ranoj fazi, liječenje je puno uspješnije, preživljavanje duže, a kvaliteta života veća.Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of death in women. In Croatia, every eleventh woman is at risk of breast cancer, and a further increase in the number of patients is expected. Women over the age of 50 are most often affected, but there is also an increase of cases of younger women. The causes of breast cancer are not yet fully known, but long-term studies have singled out risk factors that are certainly associated with the development of breast cancer. These include lifestyle, hormonal status, anthropometric characteristics, radiation, and genetic predisposition. Breast cancer is most often detected by breast self-examination. Women should examine their breasts regularly once a month at an early age so that they can notice any changes. In addition to self-examination, women should have regular clinical examinations and mammograms. For the final diagnosis, the specialist may request additional tests. The treatment is very complex, and the best results are achieved by surgical treatment in combination with systemic treatment and radiation. The National Program for Early Detection of Breast Cancer covers all women in the Republic of Croatia aged 50 to 69. As a part of the program, women can have a free mammogram every two years. The goal of the program is to detect cancer at an early stage, and reduce mortality. The aim of this paper is to examine women's knowledge and attitudes about breast cancer prevention. The research was conducted online. A 33-question survey was conducted for the purpose of this research in which a total of 1,063 women participated. The results show that the tendency of self-examination rises with age. In general, the higher the level of education, the more knowledge women have about breast cancer. Women of higher education believe to a lesser extent that women in Croatia are well informed about breast cancer. It was also found that women of different level of education list different reasons of weaker response to mammography. Residents of the city show better knowledge about breast cancer, and a greater tendency to self-examination than residents of the village. It was found that participants who believe that the main reason for the lower response is poor financial situation have less knowledge about breast cancer than participants who believe that the main reason is insufficient information or neglect of health. Women who respond to mammograms also have a higher level of self-examination tendency than women who do not respond. It is very important to educate women about breast cancer and its prevention from an early age, because if cancer is detected at an early stage, treatment is much more successful, survival is longer, and the quality of life is higher