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Abstract：
Background Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in the female population. The cultural diversity, religious beliefs, myths, and misinformation regarding the disease contribute to diagnostic delays and enhanced burden on the healthcare system. This study aimed to ascertain the extent of knowledge and prevalence of erroneous beliefs and misconceptions regarding breast cancer among Pakistani women belonging to diverse socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. Methodology This cross-sectional study was performed in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 350 women were enrolled in the study as a representative female population, and 300 participants were included who met the inclusion criteria. Participants were conveniently interviewed using a pre-piloted questionnaire designed to assess the prevalent myths and misconceptions about breast cancer. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) using descriptive statistics. Results The study findings point to a significant prevalence of erroneous beliefs and a lack of accurate information on breast cancer. The mean age of the participants was 20.8 ± 10.4 years. The majority of the participants belonged to a middle socioeconomic status (70%) and were undergraduates (61.4%). The participants\' friends and family members were the most frequent sources of information regarding breast cancer. The most common myth was \"breast-feeding offers immunity to breast cancer completely\" (76.6%), followed by \"breast cancer spreads after biopsy\" (63.8%). Participants also believed that breast tissue biopsy can lead to the spread of cancer (63.4%) and that faith healers and alternative medicine can cure breast cancer (47.5%). One-third (33.3%) of the participants considered all lumps to be breast cancer; however, approximately half (41.6%) of the participants thought that only painful lumps were associated with breast cancer. A significant number of participants believed breast cancer to be a result of God\'s curse (31.4%) or evil eye (38.7%). Conclusions The findings suggest a critical need for community-based breast health education initiatives that take into account Pakistani women\'s distinctive cultural and societal attitudes and work to dispel common misconceptions about the condition.
摘要：
背景技术乳腺癌是女性人群中最常见的癌症类型之一。文化的多样性,宗教信仰,神话,和有关疾病的错误信息导致诊断延误和增加医疗保健系统的负担。这项研究旨在确定在具有不同社会经济和教育背景的巴基斯坦妇女中，有关乳腺癌的错误信念和误解的知识程度和普遍性。方法这项横断面研究是在卡拉奇的一家三级医院进行的，巴基斯坦。共有350名妇女作为代表性的女性人口被纳入研究，纳入300名符合纳入标准的参与者.使用预试点问卷方便地采访了参与者，该问卷旨在评估有关乳腺癌的普遍神话和误解。数据由SPSS第23版(IBMCorp.,Armonk,NY,美国)使用描述性统计数据。结果研究结果表明，错误信念的患病率很高，并且缺乏有关乳腺癌的准确信息。参与者的平均年龄为20.8±10.4岁。大多数参与者属于中等社会经济地位（70％），是本科生（61.4％）。参与者的朋友和家庭成员是关于乳腺癌的最常见的信息来源。最常见的神话是“母乳喂养完全提供对乳腺癌的免疫力”（76.6％），其次是“乳腺癌活检后扩散”（63.8%）。参与者还认为，乳腺组织活检可导致癌症扩散（63.4％），信仰治疗师和替代医学可以治愈乳腺癌（47.5％）。三分之一（33.3％）的参与者认为所有肿块都是乳腺癌;然而，大约一半(41.6%)的参与者认为只有疼痛性肿块与乳腺癌有关.相当数量的参与者认为乳腺癌是上帝诅咒（31.4%）或邪恶之眼（38.7%）的结果。结论研究结果表明，迫切需要基于社区的乳房健康教育计划，该计划考虑到巴基斯坦妇女独特的文化和社会态度，并努力消除对这种情况的常见误解。
