• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.45-53
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• 2021

PURPOSE: This study examined women's attitudes toward the use of physical therapy in the treatment process after breast cancer surgery and the degree of interest in this application. Path analysis was conducted to discover the approaches to improve awareness of the necessity of physical therapy intervention after breast cancer surgery. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional survey of 230 women aged 20 years and over with no history of breast cancer. The measurement tool used in this study was a structured questionnaire, composed of 17 items in five fields: five items on the demographic characteristics, four items related to health checkups, four items involving the viewpoints on breast cancer, one item related to the interest in breast cancer, and four items related to physical therapy after surgery. RESULTS: Women's attitudes toward regular health checkups were major factors in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. In addition, those with higher levels of interest in breast cancer showed stronger interest in using physical therapy after breast cancer surgery. CONCLUSION: Women believe that breast cancer can be prevented through the health checkups implemented by the government. Therefore, there is a need to utilize public relations to promote methods for the self-diagnosis of breast cancer in the health checkup system and the use of physical therapy after breast cancer surgery.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.13
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• pp.5349-5357
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality among women of all ethnic and age groups in Malaysia. Delay in seeking help for breast cancer symptoms is preventable and by identifying possible factors for delayed diagnosis, patient prognosis and survival rates could be improved. Objectives: This narrative review aimed to understand and evaluate the level of in-depth breast cancer knowledge in terms of clinical breast examination and breast self-examination, and other important aspects such as side-effects and risk factors in Malaysian females. Since Malaysia is multicultural, this review assessed social perceptions, cultural beliefs and help-seeking behaviour in respect to breast cancer among different ethnic groups, since these may impinge on efforts to 'avoid' the disease. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search of seven databases was performed from December 2015 to January 2015. Screening of relevant published journals was also undertaken to identify available information related to the knowledge, perception and help-seeking behaviour of Malaysian women in relation to breast cancer. Results: A total of 42 articles were appraised and included in this review. Generally, women in Malaysia had good awareness of breast cancer and its screening tools, particularly breast self-examination, but only superficial in-depth knowledge about the disease. Women in rural areas had lower levels of knowledge than those in urban areas. It was also shown that books, magazines, brochures and television were among the most common sources of breast cancer information. Delay in presentation was attributed mainly to a negative social perception of the disease, poverty, cultural and religion practices, and a strong influence of complementary and alternative medicine, rather than a lack of knowledge. Conclusions: This review highlighted the need for an intensive and in-depth breast cancer education campaigns using media and community health programmes, even with the existing good awareness of breast cancer. This is essential in order to avoid misconceptions and to frame the correct mind-set about breast cancer among women in Malaysia. Socio-cultural differences and religious practices should be taken into account by health care professionals when advising on breast cancer. Women need to be aware of the risk factors and symptoms of breast cancer so that early diagnosis can take place and the chances of survival improved.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2007

Aim: The purpose of this paper is to present the importance of multidisciplinary strategies in cancer prevention and control, especially comprehensive breast cancer care. Background: Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women and is the leading cause of cancer deaths. Although the incidence of breast cancer in Asian countries is still lower than in Western countries, the rate of increase for the last two decades is striking. Methods: Data on cancer mortality, incidence, and risk factors were summarized by using the most recent data available from population-based cancer registries affiliated with the International Union Against Cancer, the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program and the CDC's National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR). Results: Global differences in breast cancer incidence and fluctuations in rates within a country still exist. The incidence of breast cancer in Asian countries was lower than in Western countries. Breast cancer incidence in the United States decreased each year during 1999-2003. On the other hand, morbidity and mortality related to breast cancer in Asia has increased significantly. Conclusion: Multidisciplinary strategies to reduce breast cancer mortality and promote breast cancer awareness are addressed. Lessons learned from multidisciplinary approaches to cancer treatment and control will be valuable in implementing future breast cancer research in the fields of basic, clinical, and population research in Asia.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1093-1098
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem both in our country and worldwide due to its disease burden, fatality and tendency for increased incidence. In Turkey, breast cancer ranks first with an incidence of 41.6% and cervical cancer is the tenth most common cancer with an incidence of 4.4%. Objectives and Design: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 240 women aged from 15 to 65 years admitted to a gynecology-obstetrics outpatient clinic of a private hospital in Gaziantep. Study data were collected by the investigators through a 36-item questionnaire form which was generated using information gathered from similar surveys in the literature. Results: It was determined that 34.6% of women were high-school graduates, and 64.2% had a medium income level. The majority (79.2%) stated that they never performed BSE and 49.5% of them said that they did not know how to do it. Some 79.2% did not know what a Pap smear was and 73.3% had not experienced a smear test ever. Conclusions: In this study, we found that most of the women had insufficient knowledge of breast and cervical cancer, while knowledge and practices increased with the education level. Based on these findings, we suggest that there is a need for planning, implementation and assessment of health policies and healthcare services at the national and regional level and we believe that nurses working in the field of protective health services should develop educational programmes for women with a primary focus on cancer in order to increase awareness among the female population in Turkey.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.191-194
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• 2015

Purpose: To estimate the incidence of breast cancer in Yemeni female patients presenting with a breast mass. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was carried out with 595 female patients with palpable breast lumps, attending to Alkuwait university hospital, Sana'a, Yemen. Triple assessment, including breast examination, mammography and biopsy (FNAC, core needle, or excision), for all patients were performed. Results: The incidences of benign and malignant lesions was calculated. Some 160 (26.9%) of 595 patients had malignancies; 213 (35.8%) were fibroadenomas; 12 (2.0%) were fibrocystic change; 143 (24.03%) were inflammatory lesions (including mastitis and ductectasia); 62 (10.4%) were simple cysts, while 5 (0.8%) were phyllodes tumors. The mean age of patients with malignant lumps was 44.3 years. Conclusions: Among Yemeni female patients with palpable breast lumps, the rate of breast cancer is high, with occurrence at an earlier age than in Western countries. Improving breast cancer awareness programs and increasing breast cancer screening centers inb different areas of Yemen are needed to establish early diagnosis and offer early and optimal treatment.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.557-565
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• 2017

This study was conducted to investigate the radiation protection, awareness, and attitude of radiological technologists in the mammography room due to the low energy use of breast imaging. Data collection was performed by 222 independent radiological technologists in the breast and breast clinic of six hospitals except Jeju Island. The independent sample t-test and oneway variance analysis were performed. As a result, it was found that the lower the number of men(p<0.05), the age of 30s(p<0.05), the marriage(p<0.05), the work experience of more than 10 years(p<0.05), the working hours of 8 hours(p<0.01), the less the impact of radiation(p<0.01), the more important it was to radiation defense. appear. This is thought to be influenced by the work specificity and work environment of the mammography room, and it will be used as a basic data to raise awareness and act on the exposure through analysis with other factors.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1105-1109
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• 2012

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women in India and the disease burden is increasing annually. The lack of awareness initiatives, structured screening, and affordable treatment facilities continue to result in poor survival. We present a breast cancer survival scenario, in urban population in India, where standardised care is distributed equitably and free of charge through an employees' healthcare scheme. We studied 99 patients who were treated at our hospital during the period 2005 to 2010 and our follow-up rates were 95.95%. Patients received evidence-based standardised care in line with the tertiary cancer centre in Mumbai. One-, three- and five-year survival rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. Socio-demographic, reproductive and tumor factors, relevant to survival, were analysed. Mortality hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard method. Survival in this series was compared to that in registries across India and discrepancies were discussed. Patients mean age was 56 years, mean tumor size was 3.2 cms, 85% of the tumors belonged to T1 and T2 stages, and 45% of the patients belonged to the composite stages I and IIA. Overall 5-year survival was 74.9%. Patients who presented with large-sized tumors (HR 3.06; 95% CI 0.4-9.0), higher composite stage (HR 1.91; 0.55-6.58) and undergone mastectomy (HR 2.94; 0.63-13.62) had a higher risk of mortality than women who had higher levels of education (HR 0.25; 0.05-1.16), although none of these results reached the significant statistical level. We observed 25% better survival compared to other Indian populations. Our results are comparable to those from the European Union and North America, owing to early presentation, equitable access to standardised free healthcare and complete follow-up ensured under the scheme. This emphasises that equitable and affordable delivery of standardised healthcare can translate into early presentation and better survival in India.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3281-3288
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Despite being associated with high morbidity and mortality, breast cancer is a disease that can be diagnosed and treated early. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 321 women, data were collected by Questionnaire, Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Form and Champion's Health Belief Model Scale. Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal-Wallis, Chisquared tests and logistic regression were used in the statistical analysis. Results: It was found that only 2.2% of women have high and very high risk levels of breast cancer risk. There is a positive correlation between early diagnosis techniques and Health Belief Model Sub-Dimension scores which are sensibility, health motivation, BSE (Breast self-examination) self-efficient perception and negative correlation between mammography barrier score and BSE barrier score (p 0.05). When factors for not having BSE were examined, it was determined that the women who do not have information about breast cancer and the women who smoke have a higher risk of not having BSE. Conclusions: It is important to determine health beliefs and breast cancer risk levels of women to increase the frequency of early diagnosis. Women's health beliefs are thought to be a good guide for planning health education programs for nurses working in this area.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.478-482
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• 2020

Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) has received increasing interest among plastic surgeons as a long-term complication of breast augmentation. Although the prognosis is usually good, mortality is a possible outcome. Most of the cases reported in the past two decades have been from the United States, Europe, and Australia, whereas cases of BIA-ALCL in Asia remain rare. Herein, we describe the first known case of BIA-ALCL in Thailand, in which a 32-year-old woman developed BIA-ALCL 3 years after breast augmentation using textured implants. The patient underwent bilateral removal of the implants and ipsilateral total capsulectomy. This case report-the first of its kind from Thailand-should increase awareness of BIA-ALCL among plastic surgeons in Asia. The true incidence of BIA-ALCL in Asia may be underreported.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5539-5542
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• 2013

There is a consensus among researchers about the fact that women should be familiar with their breasts but there is a lot of argument as to how to make them aware of what is normal for them. For over decades breast self examination (BSE) was advocated for the same but as an outcome of work conducted by researchers in various countires a controversy has been raised in the West. In a country like India, where breast cancer screening is not popular and limited resources are available we should question what would be the best strategy to make women familiar with their breasts to facilitate best use of BSE.