THE EFFECT OF BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGNS ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE AMONG WOMEN IN BENUE STATE (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The entire human race is at the brink of total destruction because of the increasing susceptibility to cancer. Statistics emanating from different health organisations and agencies around the world indicate that there are over 16 million new cases of cancer globally. This figure, according to World Health Organization (WHO) 2011report, is likely to double in 2020 (Chustecka, 2011p.1). Over 16 million cancer cases have been predicted to occur in 2020 with 70 percent of these cases likely to take place in developing countries with Africa accounting for over 57 percent incidence rate and one million cases of breast cancer (Chustecka, 2011p.1).
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) gave an estimate of over 681,000 and 512,400 new cases of cancer in 2008 alone. These figures have increased to 1.4 million cases and 714,000 deaths in 2010 (IARC Report 2010 p.3). Unfortunately, it is projected by IARC that these numbers will double before 2030, because of the aging and growth of the population; unhealthy behaviours associated with lack of exercises, dieting, smoking, economic development and urbanization. According to this report, the factors mentioned above result in different types of cancers, such as cancer of the stomach, lungs, liver, uterus, kidney (renal cell carcinoma), blood cancer known as leukemia, sinuses and breast cancer. Breast cancer ranks the second most prevalent of all cancers worldwide after cancer of the lungs (World Cancer Report, 2011p.4).
Globally, there are over 1.2 million cases of breast cancer with 411,000 deaths annually. More than 56-60 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries including Nigeria (Akpo, Akhator & Akpo 2010 p.3). It is estimated that in every 100,000 Nigerian women, 116 of them have breast cancer and that more than half of the number have a very
high generic risk status and as such are vulnerable to the disease. (American Cancer Society, 2009 p.6). In addition, Akpo, Akhator and Akpo (2010 p.4), report that a recent oncological review of cases in Nigeria revealed that, breast cancer survival rate is less than 50 percent in Nigeria in contrast to 90 percent in developed countries. Bhopal (2002) refers to incidence as, the calculated risk of acquiring a new state or becoming sick within a certain period of time. He also notes that it is a frequency of occurrence of particular events at any given time. Despite the high incidence rate, the good news, however, is that experts believe that the high incidences of this disease can be reduced through aggressive enlightenment campaigns.
