Despite the prevalence of breast cancer awareness campaigns, two new studies indicate that many women lack an understanding about their own breast cancer risk and treatment.
Preliminary findings, presented at the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium in San Francisco, USA, suggest that most women cannot accurately assess their own risk of developing breast cancer. Nearly 10,000 women in New York, USA, were asked to assess their risk prior to mammography screening. Only 9.4% of the women accurately estimated their own risk compared with that calculated using the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool from the US National Cancer Institute. The remaining ∼90% of women either overestimated or underestimated their own risk, in roughly equal proportions. Jonathan Herman, of Hofstra University in New York, USA, who led the study, said “Women are surrounded by breast cancer awareness messages ... yet our study shows that fewer than one in 10 women have an accurate understanding of their breast cancer risk. That means that our education messaging is far off” (
Chicago Sun-Times
, 4 Sep 2013).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
