[Breast cancer screening in Dakar: knowledge and practice of breast self examination among a female population in Senegal]

Abstract

In front of the absence of a mammographic screening program and the late diagnosis of the breast cancers in Senegal, we wanted to evaluate the knowledge and the practice of the breast self examination (BSE) by feminine population in Senegal. During the period between July 10th to August 25th 2006, through five big hospitals in Dakar, we interviewed 300 patients coming from a medical or surgical consultation. For every patient we studied the social and demographic characteristics, the antecedents and arguments about the knowledge and practice of BSE. We found, in majority, a young population (the average age was 34 years), no sent to school (26.7%), without any financial income (58.7%), with a brief knowledge about BSE (42.7%) and a regular practice of BSE (29%). The information about BSE originated essentially from educational television (52.9%). This knowledge and practice were significantly influenced by the study level (p = 0.000) and the level of financial income (p = 0.02). Among these who presented certain factors of breast cancer risk, the knowledge and the practice of the BSE were however low. The authors insist on the need to encourage the women schooling and their socioprofessional insertion so to improve the knowledge and practice of the breast self-examination in our developing countries.