Breast Cancer : women do not trust the screening

imagepointfr/epictura

Published the 31.08.2017 at 17: 10 pm

A A

Keywords :

dépistagecancer of the breast

Aware of the benefits of breast cancer screening, the French are nevertheless reluctant to get tested, shows an Ifop poll carried out for the association Europa Donna (1). Only 6 in 10 women have ever had a mammogram, in particular through the lack of awareness on the part of physicians but also of the ideas received on the exam.

Among the 42 % of women who have never had screening, 35 % say they have never received information from their doctor. They are also more than a third believe that they have little or no risk of developing cancer of the breast.

And although participation in the screening increases with age (53 % in the 35 to 49 years, and 90 % among 50-to 64-years in the sample studied), the invitation letters received in the framework of the national program do not drive women to travel. In fact, only 30 % of women visited a centre for screening after receiving the invitation, and 28 % have done without.
Each year, in France, the participation rate of organized screening does not exceed 50 %.

Source : Europa Donna

Lack of confidence

If women are going backwards, it is that they do not attach great confidence to this program. In fact, more than two-thirds of respondents believe that the testing centres are not equal in terms of equipment. They are also 10 % think that the free screening is less effective. A proportion that climbs to 32 percent among the women with breast cancer.

“We, associations of patients and health professionals, to remind women that screening saves lives, that the free screening provides the same results as the screening fee, and that all the centers are equipped equally to provide a screening efficient and reliable, especially as all the equipment must be certified and trained radiologists,” said Natacha Espié, president of the association Europa Donna.