Nine out of 10 women often overestimate how likely they are to develop breast cancer in their lifetime. In the study, a group of 175 women estimated that the chance of developing breast cancer was, on average, 46 percent higher than the actual average risk of 13 percent. Previous research has shown that women who speak to a counsellor about their risk of breast cancer tend to become less motivated to schedule regular mammograms because they learn that the actual risk of breast cancer is much lower than they had expected. Clinicians are thus faced with a dilemma that should they be honest with women about the odds of breast cancer. Researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor found that a woman's risk of breast cancer is not as high as they think, but that doesn't mean that the risk is zero. They definitely need to get themselves screened every year. During the study, the researching team asked 175 out of 356 women to estimate the average risk of breast cancer, then told all the women that the actual risk was 13 percent. Only 7 percent of women asked to estimate their risk came close to the actual number. Among the women not asked to estimate their risk, 37 percent said they thought 13 percent was close to what they expected. The researchers noted that women are not likely to carry a number in their head of their risk of breast cancer. They are influenced by the fact that people often talk about breast cancer, making it seem more common than it is. In contrast, if they are told outright that it's 13 percent, that sounds okay. Researchers cautioned that the risk of 13 percent is an average, and each woman might have a higher or lower risk depending on family history and other factors. A woman's individual risk is something only she and her doctor can determine.
Patient Education and Counseling,
June 2005