Breast cancer: Knowledge and perceptions of Chinese women in Hong Kong

This study explored the knowledge of breast cancer risk factors and employed the Health Belief Model (HBM) to examine the perception and barriers of breast cancer screenings of Hong Kong Chinese women using a structured questionnaire. Of the 496 respondents, 70.8% and 77.0% considered a family history of breast cancer and prior history of benign beast problems as risk factors respectively. However, over 40% were unsure of other risk factors including age, early age at menstruation, late age at menopause, childlessness and oral contraceptive use. About 80% regarded breast cancer as a serious illness and 88.7% acknowledged that both mammography and breast self examination (BSE) could help early detection of the disease. Nevertheless about 68% had never had a mammogram, and the most important perceived barriers were not knowing how the test was done (81.3%) and the cost (63.0%). Only 31.9% did not practice BSE, and not knowing how to perform BSE was the primary perceived barrier.