The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge about breast cancer and mammography in breast cancer screening among women awaiting mammographic examination. A cross-sectional survey was carried out of 298 women with an age range of 29-79 years through interview before mammographic examination. The questionnaire was designed specifically for this study, and a total of 100 points was given for all correct answers. Women's perception of susceptibility to breast cancer, severity of the disease, barriers to breast cancer screening, and perceived benefits of mammography were determined. Their knowledge about the risk factors of breast cancer and self-examination were also assessed. The most striking points in this study were that 95.3% of respondents knew that women should have had periodic mammographic evaluations and 87.6% of them were aware of the fact that mammography could show early occult cancer. However, 47% had never had a mammography screening test. When scoring was done for each correct answer, the mean score was 62.39 ± 14.36. The majority of respondents (71.1%) declared that they practiced breast self-examination and their scores were significantly higher (P = 0.014) than those who did not. Despite expectations, knowledge about breast cancer and mammography screening was not low in the study population, although participation in mammographic screening tests was less than optimal.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge about breast cancer and mammography in breast cancer screening among women awaiting mammographic examination. A cross-sectional survey was carried out of 298 women with an age range of 29-79 years through interview before mammographic examination. The questionnaire was designed specifically for this study, and a total of 100 points was given for all correct answers. Women's perception of susceptibility to breast cancer, severity of the disease, barriers to breast cancer screening, and perceived benefits of mammography were determined. Their knowledge about the risk factors of breast cancer and self-examination were also assessed. The most striking points in this study were that 95.3% of respondents knew that women should have had periodic mammographic evaluations and 87.6% of them were aware of the fact that mammography could show early occult cancer. However, 47% had never had a mammography screening test. When scoring was done for each correct answer, the mean score was 62.39 ± 14.36. The majority of respondents (71.1%) declared that they practiced breast self-examination and their scores were significantly higher (P = 0.014) than those who did not. Despite expectations, knowledge about breast cancer and mammography screening was not low in the study population, although participation in mammographic screening tests was less than optimal.