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Abstract Breast cancer is by far the most frequent cancer of women constituting about 23% of all cancers. It is ranked as the second when both sexes are considered together. It is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women and constitutes 14% of female cancer deaths. Incidence rates are increasing in many countries even those with previous low incidence rate. In Egypt, BC accounts for 35.1% of all cases of cancer and is the most prevalent cancer among Egyptian women. Since breast cancer is a progressive disease, small tumors are more likely to be at an early stage and their early detection is more likely to have a better prognosis and more successful treatment. The three screening tests usually considered for early detection are breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination by a physician (CBE) and X-ray mammography. Knowledge about breast cancer, its screening methods as well as women’s attitude towards BSE are important predisposing factors greatly affect seeking breast cancer screening among women. The objective of this research was to assess the impact of health education on knowledge, attitudes and practices of BSE among women attending three randomly selected family health center/units at Abo Homos. A convenient sample of 100 women aged 30-55 years attending three randomly selected family health center/units in El-Beheira governorate were selected. All women attended an educational session and received an educational leaflet. Before Education all women were asked to fill a self-administered questionnaire included data about their socio-demographic characteristics, family history of breast cancer, past history of recent breast complaints or breast cancer, major sources of knowledge about breast cancer and BSE, their knowledge about cancer breast and BSE, attitude towards and practices of BSE. It was considered as a pre-test for the educational intervention. After three months, women were invited to attend the center to fill the post test questionnaire and observed while examining their breast. Only 70 women attended and filled the post-test questionnaire. |