Lay perceptions of breast cancer in Western Kenya

Table 1 Lay opinions about causes of breast cancer in Western Kenya

	No. of coded statements (%)
Perceived cause	Kapsokwony	Mosoriot	Turbo	Total Opinions
	597 (38%)	297 (19%)	672 (43%)	1566 (100%)
Hereditary	91 (15.2)	33 (11.1)	69 (10.3)	193 (12.3)
Food consumed	60 (10.1)	38 (12.8)	89 (13.2)	187 (11.9)
Witchcraft and curses	63 (10.6)	7 (2.4)	38 (5.7)	108 (6.9)
Family planning methods	23 (3.9)	8 (2.7)	25 (3.7)	56 (3.6)
Alcohol and tobacco consumption	18 (3.0)	2 (0.7)	26 (3.9)	46 (2.9)
Breastfeeding	12 (2.0)	8 (2.7)	8 (1.2)	28 (1.8)
Not breastfeeding	9 (1.5)	6 (2.0)	9 (13)	24 (1.5)
Exposure to toxic substances	11 (1.8)	4 (1.3)	7 (1.0)	22 (1.4)
HIV and other sexual diseases	6 (1.0)	0	3 (0.4)	9 (0.6)
Environmental changes	2 (0.3)	2 (0.7)	4 (0.6)	8 (0.5)
Radiation and vibrations	7 (1.2)	0	1 (0.1)	8 (0.5)
Type of clothing	2 (0.3)	0	4 (0.6)	6 (0.4)
Low sexual encounters	1 (0.2)	0	1 (0.1)	2 (0.1)
Early sexual encounter	2 (0.3)	0	0	2 (0.1)
High number of sexual encounters	1 (0.2)	0	1 (0.1)	2 (0.1)
Others1	25 (4.2)	5 (1.7)	13 (1.9)	43 (2.7)
No opinions expressed2	264 (44.2)	184 (61.9)	374 (55.7)	822 (52.5)

¹Others include: Becoming rich/wealthy, depression, dirt in the body, bacterial infection, injuries, traditional medicine not properly administered, not “having children”, man sucking on breasts during pregnancy, male circumcision, fate, insect bites, lack of physical activity, and having big breasts;

²N in this row = number of respondents expressing no opinions.