Women's beliefs and feelings about breast cancer and its control

Abstract

THERE is a lack of comprehensive evidence on women's beliefs about breast cancer and its control. This survey involved detailed interviews with wom en aged 45-64 living in England. The results show that cancer, rather than breast cancer, was the major source of anxiety and fear. Those who were specifi cally concerned about breast cancer were worried about breast loss, although less emphasis was placed on the implications for the women's sexual identity than on general fears about disfigurement and the problems involved with coping with it. A fifth of the respondents implied that there was some kind of stigma attached either to having cancer or having breast cancer. The early detection of breast cancer was seen by the majority as the only way of controlling breast cancer.