Breast cancer awareness, attitude and challenges among women in port harcourt city: implications for sustainable community development

Background: The breast cancer burden in Africa according to GLOBOCAN 2018 was 168,690 cases and 74,072 deaths. This study evaluated the status of breast cancer awareness, attitude, and challenges among women in the two local government areas in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out using the multistage sampling technique, and semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire to extract information on breast cancer awareness, attitude to breast cancer, and challenges. Data was analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: Majority of respondents (n = 346, 62%) did not know about the symptoms of breast cancer, and most (n = 498, 89.2%) had never undergone any form of screening for breast cancer. Political (n = 149, 26.7%), religious (n = 124, 22.2%), cultural (n = 50, 9.0%), and financial (n = 18, 3.2%) challenges were highlighted. Conclusion: Awareness of breast cancer symptoms and screening was low, and most of respondents had never undergone any form of screening. Multiple challenges exist without inclusive Health Insurance coverage for breast cancer. A government driven program using community-based network can help to improve on the available outlook of breast cancer public awareness.