Abstract
Breast awareness refers to awareness of a woman about the normal look and feel of her own breasts, which would enable her to immediately notice any changes in these attributes, potentially facilitating early diagnosis of breast cancer. Breast awareness is the first and important breast screening step for reducing breast cancer mortality. In many developed countries, breast cancer mortality has already decreased, whereas in Japan, the mortality is still increasing. The extremely low participation rate in screening mammography is the most important reason for the continued increase of breast cancer mortality in Japan. Poor breast awareness, poor awareness about breast cancer screening, and familial/hereditary breast cancer are crucial factors that contribute to the extremely low participation rate in screening mammography in Japan. In a cross-sectional online survey carried out to investigate the knowledge about the importance of breast awareness, breast cancer screening, and familial/hereditary breast cancer in 1000 Japanese women aged 20 and 69 years old, only 5% of the participants knew about breast awareness. In regard to awareness about breast cancer screening, 31% of the participants knew that mammography is the appropriate modality for breast cancer screening, and 22% were aware that screening mammography is recommended for women aged 40 years old and over in Japan. To our surprise, 71% of the participants were aware about familial/hereditary breast cancer. Thus, the percentages of Japanese women who knew about the importance of breast awareness and breast cancer screening were low, and we suggest the need to devise educational programs and campaigns to spread knowledge about breast awareness and improve participation in routine breast cancer screening.
