Knowledge and perceptions about breast cancer incidence, fatality and riskamong Australian women

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common fatal cancer among Australian w omen. This study aimed to provide an accurate national picture of women's u nderstanding of breast cancer incidence, fatality and risk. Method: A telephone survey explored the knowledge and perceptions of a samp le of 2,935 Australian women in relation to breast cancer incidence, fatali ty, risk factors, risk perception and level of concern. Results: Australian women were well aware of breast cancer in general terms , however, there were major aspects of incidence and risk which were poorly understood. Only 5% of women nominated age as a risk factor, and only one- third were able to make an approximately correct estimate of the incidence of breast cancer in Australia. Conclusions and Implications: Recommendations for future information campai gns include targeting understanding of lifetime risk of developing breast c ancer, age as a risk factor, survival from breast cancer and the need to se parately address the perceptions of older versus younger women.