Screening for breast and cervical cancer in a large German city: participation, motivation and knowledge of risk factors

Background: Few data exist on attendance for cervical and breast cancer screening, breast self-examination and knowledge about risk factors for cervical cancer among German women. A population-based survey was performed in the city of Bielefeld in Germany. Method: A questionnaire was mailed to 1500 randomly selected women age 25 to 75. Of those, 540 questionnaires were returned and 532 were analysed. Results: Women participating in the survey considered themselves well informed about possibilities for early detection of breast cancer (84.0%). Most information was received from office-based gynaecologists (82.4%). 82.8% had a breast examination by a medical doctor annually and 43.1% practised breast self-examination every month. 55.5% of the women had had a mammography, 72.5% gave screening as a reason for a mammogram. Age at first mammography was associated with social class (p