Abstract
As uterine cervical cancer occurrence has begun to observe at such younger ages as their twenties and higher rate of breast cancer incidence has been observed, it is important for female university students to have the knowledge about cancer associated with women and to raise their consciousness of health. Here we conducted an investigational survey on their knowledge about cervical cancer and breast cancer to 164 female university students who have made consent to this study with an aim of promoting their knowledge on female cancers and improving their self-care capability. In this investigation, it was found that the students with the knowledge of cervical cancer also significantly had the knowledge of breast cancer, and that they also had a vaccination for cervical cancer (HPV vaccine). The number of average correct answers to the knowledge of cervical cancer was significantly higher with those students who had HPV vaccination. Overall immunization rate for the HPV vaccine was 25.0%, and the most popular reason for the vaccination was a recommendation by family or friends, which accounted for 58.5%. Rate of medical examination for cervical cancer was as low as 8.5%, and those students who had HPV vaccine also showed low rate of medical examination like 9.8%. Many of those students with the knowledge of breast cancer had an experience of self-palpation method. Although the self-palpation method was widely recognized, only 14.7% of the students actually did the self-palpation method. Since there were many students (81.6%) who expressed a desire to learn the actual procedure of the self-palpation method, we will carry out the educational instruction on the self-palpation method for breast cancer as well as awareness campaign on female cancers.
