Uddin Nazneen, Fateem Elham, Hablas Ahmed, Seifeldin Ibrahim A, Brown Elissa, Merajver Sofia D, Soliman Amr S
Department of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
J Cancer Educ. 2012 Mar;27(1):149-55. doi: 10.1007/s13187-011-0282-3.
We conducted focus groups with women from urban and rural areas in the Nile Delta region to investigate their attitudes regarding breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and screening. Six 60-min focus groups, each group comprised of 6-10 women with ages between 20-69 years, were conducted. Discussions included breast health, breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, early detection and screening, and communication for breast health. Almost all urban and rural women reported that women do not see physicians until they are seriously ill or have advanced cancer. They reported that oncologists or gynecologists were important to be seen first if a woman suspected breast cancer and primary care physician are not the primary line of cancer diagnosis. Other deterring factors besides distrust in primary care physicians included attitude that breast cancer equals death and lack of knowledge of early detection and screening techniques. Women felt that public education campaigns must be implemented to improve early detection and screening methods for breast cancer. The majority of beliefs regarding breast cancer and screening were common among urban and rural women. Culture-specific and tailored professional and public education programs in developing countries are essential for achieving downstaging cancer.
我们对尼罗河三角洲地区城乡妇女开展了焦点小组访谈，以调查她们对乳腺癌诊断、治疗和筛查的态度。共进行了6个60分钟的焦点小组访谈，每个小组由6至10名年龄在20至69岁之间的女性组成。讨论内容包括乳房健康、乳腺癌诊断、治疗、早期发现与筛查以及乳房健康方面的沟通。几乎所有城乡妇女都表示，女性直到病情严重或患晚期癌症才会去看医生。她们称，如果女性怀疑患有乳腺癌，首先去看肿瘤学家或妇科医生很重要，初级保健医生并非癌症诊断的一线人员。除了对初级保健医生不信任外，其他阻碍因素还包括认为乳腺癌等同于死亡的观念以及对早期发现和筛查技术缺乏了解。妇女们认为必须开展公众教育活动，以改进乳腺癌的早期发现和筛查方法。城乡妇女对乳腺癌和筛查的大多数看法是相同的。在发展中国家，针对特定文化定制的专业和公众教育项目对于实现癌症降期至关重要。
