Women overestimate breast cancer risk

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that the majority of women think their risk of breast cancer is higher than it actually is.
A woman has a roughly 13 per cent chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. But many think the risk is much higher than this. Researchers at the University of Michigan have questioned a group of 175 women on how they view their breast cancer risk. They learned that women think, on average, that their chance of getting breast cancer is nearly 50 per cent.

Previously, research has shown that when women realize the risk of getting cancer is less than they assumed, then they are less motivated to attend for mammography screening. In this study, when another group was told the actual risk of breast cancer - but not asked to previously estimate it - only one third said that the 13 per cent figure was what they expected.

When someone famous, or someone we know, develops breast cancer, we tend to talk about the disease a lot. Maybe that makes it seem more common than it actually is. It is important to realise that the 13 per cent figure is only an average - some women have a higher risk, some a lower risk. For all women, regular screening is important so that any breast problems can be caught early.

Source
Patient Education and Counselling June 2005

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