Download INFORMATION NEEDS FOR BREAT SELF

INFORMATION NEEDS FOR BREAT SELF-EXAMINATION AND
BREAST CANCER EARLY DETECTION AMONG WORKING CLASS
WOMEN IN ENUGU METROPOTIS.
A PROPOSAL RESEARCH TOPIC FOR Ph.D DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED BY
OFFOR CHIMEZIE CECILIA
DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Background to the Study
Cancer remains the number one killer disease of mankind which kills more people
than even HIV/AIDS and breast cancer is believed to be the most common cancer
among women and overall, the second most common cancer globally.
Breast cancer constitutes a major public health issue and is indeed, becoming an
emerging epidemic in many countries of the world (including Nigeria), as its
frequency, according to Amosu, Degun, Thomas and Babalola (2011) has
overtaken that of other female cancers, such as ovarian and cervical cancers. While
one in every Nigerian woman dies every hour from cervical cancer, no fewer than
40 die every day from breast cancer and the incidence has since 2008, increased by
more than 20 percent with about 14 percent mortality rate (Pilot, 2015). This shows
how debilitating the disease is, with no permanent cure in sight.
In fact, based on estimates from the 2008 global burden on cancer prediction for
the next decade, more than 17.5 million women around the world will develop
breast cancer and more than 5 million women will die of the disease (Komen,
2013). These statistics are indeed, frightening and should worry all developing
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countries, including Nigeria, where the disease seems to be prevalent because of
lack of information, ignorance, stigmatization, fear of treatment and so on.
As the name implies, breast cancer is an abnormal growth or a malignant tumour
arising from the cell of the breast tissue which predominantly occurs in women and
also, rarely in men (American Cancer Society, 2012). The cancerous tumours in
the breast usually grow very slowly so that by the time one is large enough to be
felt as a lump, it may have been growing for as long as ten years and if not detected
early enough or if left untreated, these malignant tumours can invade the fatty
tissue of the breast and then spread to other parts of the body (National Cancer
Institute, 2010).
Early detection is said to be the key to its survival. According to American Cancer
Society (2003), detecting breast cancer early in its disease pathway, increase the
opportunity for its effective treatment and reduces its advancement and mortality
rates. Notably, early detection has centred largely on the use of modern screening
methods, such as mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and
unfortunately, most of this sophisticated equipment do not seem to be sufficiently
available in most developing countries. Again, most of these countries do not seem
to have an established national screening programme. All these constitute a
challenge, making it even more difficult for majority of women to have access to
early detection facilities. Most especially, working class women, who due to the
nature of the demanding roles they play both in their homes and places of work,
seem to have little to no time to access such limited facilities.
Significantly however, Global Action on Ageing (2002) has advocated that women
themselves can play such an important role in early detection and as emphasized
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by both Breakthrough Breast Cancer (2012) and Komen (2015), they can possibly
do such through breast self-examination (BSE), which is a foremost step-by-step
approach that a woman can use to look at and feel her breasts to know what is
normal for her breast tissue and what is not. Crucial to this is the need for women
to be well informed in this regards, since the fact remains that an informed mind is
well equipped with knowledge for self-survival.
Sadly, majority of working class women, who as a result of their very tight role
schedule, seem to lack time to access information pertinent to this essential
preventative as well as seemingly early detection measure. Hence, it is pertinent to
carry out a research to find out the information needs for breast self-examination
and breast cancer early detection among working class women in order to ascertain
their specific information needs in this regards.
Purpose of the Study
The primary aim of this study is to determine the information needs for breast selfexamination and breast cancer early detection among working class women in
Enugu metropolis. The study specifically intends to:
1.
Identify the information needs for breast self-examination among working
class women in Enugu metropolis.
2.
Find out the information needs for breast cancer early detection among
working class women in Enugu metropolis.
3.
Ascertain the media through which working class women access information
on breast self-examination as well as on early detection.
4.
Ascertain the preferred media for the effective propagation of information
on breast self-examination as well as early detection.
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5.
Identify the factors which hinder the working class women from accessing
information on breast self-examination.
6.
Find out the relationship between breast self-examination and breast cancer
early detection among working class women in Enugu metropolis.
7.
Ascertain the relationship between information needs and breast selfexamination among working class women in Enugu metropolis.
METHOD
This study will adopt descriptive research design and will be carried out in Enugu
Metropolis of Nigeria. Structured questionnaire will be used for data collection.
Significance of the Study
It is expected that this study will be beneficial to six groups of individuals namely:
health workers, the government, non-governmental organizations, information
professionals, the working class women and future researchers.
REFERENCES
American Cancer Society (2003). Cancer Facts and Figures. Retrived from
www.cancer.org.
American Cancer Society (2012). The annual report “Cancer statistics 2012”.
Retrieve from www.cancer.org.
Amosu, A.M., Degun, A.M., Thomas, A., & Babalola, A.O. (2011). Assessment of
awareness, perception, specific knowledge, and screening behavior
regarding breast cancer among rural women in Ikpokia Local Government
Area,
Ogun
State,
Nigeria.
Retrieved
from
www.
Scholarsresearchlibrary.com.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer (2012). Breast cancer breast awareness. Retrieve from
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http:www.breathrough.org.uk/breast)cancer/breast_awareness/.
Global Action on Ageing (2002). Breast cancer ignorance revealed, Retrieved from
http://www.globalaging.org/health/world/ignorance.htm.
Komen S.G. (2013) Susan G. Komen for the cure convenes global women’s cancer
summit; worldwide collaboration aims to tackle breast, cervical cancer,
retrieve from http;ww.5.komen.org/komenNewsArticle.aspx?1932735420
Komen S.G. (2015) Susan G. Komen for the cure. Retrieved from
ww.5.komen.org>Breast cancer>Breast selfExam.
National cancer Institute (2010). What you need to know about breast incidence
and mortality. Retrieved from www.cancer.gov.
Nigerian Pilot (2015). Finding lasting solution to breast cancer in Nigeria.
Retrieved from Nigerian Pilot.com
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