Conversations around breasts start early in a woman’s life, whether it be in a school setting via health class and dress codes or permeated through the media and exacerbated by societal pressure. But as companies, healthcare providers and others in the breast cancer space know, conversations around breast health often merit barely a whisper outside of clinical settings.
To find out more, Novartis linked up with the Harris Poll for its inaugural Breast Health and Experience Index, surveying more than 3,000 U.S. women about how they think about, talk about and care for their breasts. The poll brought to light a handful of key insights that may be shaping the narrative around breast health.
Importantly, the way women feel about their breasts is enmeshed with their perception of their identity and self-image, Novartis found. About two-thirds of U.S. women polled defined their breasts as a “large part” of their identity, and 44% said they feel self-conscious about them. The latter number rose to 63% when homing in only on women with breast cancer.
Despite any worries that women may carry about their breasts, these feelings are rarely expressed in conversations held outside of a clinical setting. Nearly half (49%) of breast cancer patients and 2 in 5 (39%) women overall reported wishing that they had more open conversations about their breast health with others.
A big contributor to the third of women who said they feel uncomfortable discussing breast health outside of the doctor’s office could be societal pressure and expectations, per Novartis. Nearly 60% of women said society’s view of breasts shapes how they feel about their own, while half felt that the sexualization of breasts bars open discussion of breast health.
“The lack of dialogue not only deepens isolation but also makes it harder for women to feel seen and supported in asking the questions they have,” Novartis pointed out in the report.
The survey found that a lack of breast health education does not seem to be a major problem, as women are often ingrained from a young age with self-screening instructions and “check your breasts” messaging. As Novartis said, “the barrier is not information, but hesitation.”
Indeed, while 80% of women polled said they feel knowledgeable about breast health, only 34% reported performing monthly self-exams. And, despite the barrage of messaging around breast cancer awareness, more than eight in 10 women with breast cancer reported feeling underprepared for their diagnoses, while nearly two-thirds wished they had been “more in control” of their breast health earlier in life, the survey found.
Approximately 13% of women will develop breast cancer at some point over their life, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S., according to data cited by Novartis. If caught early, the cancer has a 99% survival rate. But even after treatment, a breast cancer diagnosis can cast a lifelong shadow with lasting impacts.
The women surveyed who’d been diagnosed with breast cancer reported far-reaching effects on their work lives, dating lives and general self-image, showing that “breast cancer does not end when treatment ends,” per Novartis. More than half said they wanted “more from their care team during this experience,” suggesting a need for the availability of additional resources for women and their healthcare providers.
As it ramps up its breast cancer awareness efforts, Novartis, which makes breast cancer therapies Kisqali, Piqray and others, has been making it a point to elevate patient voices through similar surveys as of late. Last year, for example, the company explored how word choice can impact patients, finding negative language can negatively affect treatment choices.