CONTENT OF TITLE

TITLE:
“ A Need for Health Education: An Assessment of Knowledge about Breast Cancer Awareness and Breast Self-Examination Practices
among NEUST female students “

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

Breast cancer is a type of malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast and commonly occurs in women. This abnormal cell could
destroy healthy tissue and then spread beyond its usual boundaries. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),
Filipino women face comparatively higher risks of developing breast cancer with 1 out of 13 Filipino women expected to develop breast cancer
in her lifetime with an age-standardized rate (ASR) of 47 per 100,000 women.

Prevention remains the cornerstone of the fight against breast cancer worldwide. Although some prevention methods have been
proposed, many remain inaccessible to women in developing countries who, ironically, given the limited diagnostic and curative facilities
available to them, need prevention the most. Breast self-examination (BSE), although not having been shown to be effective in reducing
mortality, is still recommended as a general approach to increasing breast health awareness and thus potentially allow for early detection of any
anomalies. Furthermore, BSE continues to be recommended by health care practitioners because it is free, painless and easy to practice.

RATIONALE:
According to the Philippine Statistics of Authority and the Department of Health, it shows that 3 in every 100 Filipino women will be
diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. We want to emphasize the fact that breast cancer is considered as the most common cancer among
women here in the Philippines. Hence, we want to know the level of their knowledge for us to know the awareness that we need to spread about
this certain case and provide knowledge that will allow people to learn.

MAIN OBJECTIVE:
To provide women with the most encouraging way to have awareness about the importance and prevention of breast cancer and
performing breast self-examination.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES:

1. Evaluate the understanding of the respondents on the causes, risk factors and prevention of breast cancer.
2. Analyze their knowledge about the practice of breast self-examination and;
3. Assess the need for health education to provide awareness about the disease.

RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES:

Breast cancer is a major global health concern and a prominent reason of mortality among females. It affects 2.1 million women annually
and is expected to reach 3.2 million new cases per year by 2050, making it the most common cancer among women worldwide. The etiology of
breast cancer may be among the most complicated of all cancers given inherent, life-long exposures to multiple endogenous and exogenous
factors. In order to lower breast cancer's morbidity and mortality, early detection is essential and the best method of diagnosis. The American
Cancer Society advises the use of mammography, clinical breast examinations, and BSE as the three screening techniques. Among the research
undertaken by the researchers, it turned out that the majority of the respondents seemed to know the existence of breast cancer but not the
mechanism of action and its risk factors. On the other hand, female students were shown to have insufficient understanding of breast self-
examination and poor practice on BSE. Therefore, it is recommended to increase females’ level of knowledge about breast self-examination
through intensified awareness programs and also to encourage them to perform the examination regularly.

BRIEF LITERATURE: Authors and year only for the last 5 yrs
● Sarker R, Islam MS, Moonajilin MS, Rahman M, Gesesew HA, Ward PR (2022)
● Ranganath, R., Muthusami, J., Simon, M., Mandal, T., & Kukkamulla, M. A. (2020)
● Ahmed, N. J., Alshahrani, S. M., Almutiran, A., Alrawili, A. S., & Alkhawaja, F. Z. (2021)
● Fondjo, L. A., Owusu-Afriyie, O., Sakyi, S. A., Wiafe, A. A., Amankwaa, B., Acheampong, E., Ephraim, R. K. D., & Owiredu, W. K. B.
A. (2018)
● Sama, C.-B., Dzekem, B., Kehbila, J., Ekabe, C. J., Vofo, B., Abua, N. L., Dingana, T. N., & III, F. A. (2017)