KNOWLEDGE OF BREAST CANCER AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS OF ST. LOUIS GRAMMAR SCHOOL, OWO, ONDO STATE

ABSTRACT Breast cancer, a type of cancer in which a maglinant tumor starts in the breast cell and occur when mutated cells grow out of control in the breast tissue, eventually creating a tumor. The aim of the study is to evaluate the knowledge of breast cancer and it preventive measures among female students of St. Louis Grammar School, Owo, Ondo State. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted for the study using a simple random technique to select 278 students. A self-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents. Data collected were analyzed and presented using descriptive and inferential statistics on Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22 at 0.05 level of significance. The study found more than half (66.9%) of students were aged between 14-17 years while (33.2%) of them were aged less than 14 years of age. Majority (86.1%) were Yoruba while few (8.2% and 5.7%) were Igbo and Hausa. More than half (61.1%) were Christians and (38.9%) were Muslims. Majority (95.4%) claimed to be from a family with no history of breast cancer while few (4.6%) were from family with history of breast cancer. Majority (92.1%) of the students were aware of breast cancer while (7.9%) of them were not aware of breast cancer. A higher percentage (70.7%) claimed that regular breast self-examination and keeping a healthy weight (97.5%) are preventive measures towards breast cancer. This study concluded that a significant number of students were aware of breast cancer, had good knowledge of breast cancer, breast self-examination and other preventive measures associated with breast cancer. Word count: 241 Keywords: Behavior, Breast cancer, Knowledge, Practice, Preventive, St. Louis Grammar school