Acceptability and compliance with a breast cancer prevention campaign in the Northwest Region, Iran

Aim: Breast cancer screening intended to improve survival and treatment outcomes. This study aimed to document the acceptability and compliance of the breast cancer prevention campaigns. Materials & methods: Healthy women aged 35–65 years were recruited from various regions of the Northwest of Iran. All women were invited to participate in self-examination training for the breast and then re-assessed by clinical examination and mammography. Results: A total of 321 healthy women were recruited, and volunteered to undergo at least one breast self-examination. The first and second clinical examinations were conducted on all women. Ultimately, 272 women (84.7%) underwent mammography. The most common barriers to screening were found to be fear of positive results, fear of cancer, lack of knowledge, fear of the mammography procedure and pain, travel distance and costs. Conclusion: The most critical challenge for implementing a breast cancer prevention program was the lack of knowledge and attitude.