Perceptions on Breast Cancer Pattern: Medical Help Seeking Among Breast Cancer Patients

Authors

  • Khursheda Akther Dept. of Community Medicine, Mugda Medical College and 500 bed General Hospital, Dhaka
  • Kazi Jahangir Hossain Dept. of Health Education, NIPSOM, Mohakhali, Dhaka
  • Addullah Al Kawsar CDC, DGHS, Medical Officer, Mohahali, Dhaka
  • Sharmin Hossain Assistant Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine, National Medical College, Dhaka
  • Shila Rani Das Assistant Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine, ZH Sikder Women’s Medical College, Dhanmondi, Dhaka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v44i1.36803

Keywords:

Breast cancer, Perception, Help seeking time, Help seeking practice

Abstract

Perception on breast cancer influences the help seeking pattern of breast cancer patients. Negative perception causes delay in help seeking. Outcome or survival rate of breast cancer has a relation on perception. A cross sectional study was done during July 2015-June 2016, to assess the perception on breast cancer and to find out the help seeking pattern and extent of help seeking time among breast cancer patients. A total of 200 patients were selected following the convenient method of sampling from National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital. Dhaka. Face to face interviews were taken from the diagnosed breast cancer patients admitted in the hospital. Forty five percent patients were illiterate and 83% were house wife. The mean age was 42 and mean monthly family income was around 9000 taka. Two thirds of the respondents were present with locally advance stage (stage III) and three fourth of the patients identified the lump as 1st symptom. Four of 10 patients first sought help to homeopathy for their cancer diagnosis and treatment. Mean help seeking time was 11 months. Nine out of 10 patients were agreed with the statement, ‘I was healthy’. Maximum respondents (81.0%) agreed with the statement, ‘wait and see what would be happened’. Results showed that there was a relationship between delay help seeking and the statement of perception. There were significant associations between the perception on expensive treatment, perception on ‘I am healthy’, perception on ‘lump related with menstruation’, perception on ‘wait and see what would be happened’, perception on ‘feared to do operation, it may cause death’ and perception on family income and the delay in help seeking. Along with perception on breast cancer use of alternative medicine, lack of social support, health care delivery system, economic factor etc. influence the pattern and delay in help seeking. Further to the existing efforts to correct the perception for early diagnosis and treatment to overcome this problem is suggested.

Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2018; 44(1):39-44

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Abstract
5
PDF
6 ONLINE VIEW
2

Author Biography

Khursheda Akther, Dept. of Community Medicine, Mugda Medical College and 500 bed General Hospital, Dhaka



Downloads

Published

2018-06-06

How to Cite

Akther, K., Hossain, K. J., Kawsar, A. A., Hossain, S., & Das, S. R. (2018). Perceptions on Breast Cancer Pattern: Medical Help Seeking Among Breast Cancer Patients. Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin, 44(1), 39–44. https://doi.org/10.3329/bmrcb.v44i1.36803

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 1 (2018)

Section

Research Papers

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication.

Creative Commons Licence
Articles in the Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).