Table 5.
Attitudes and beliefs toward cancer in general by mammogram screening status (n = 110)
| Compliant (n = 52) | Ever had test but not compliant (n = 43) | Never had test (n = 15) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agreed that | ||||
| If cancer is found early, it can be cured | 48 (92%) | 38 (88%) | 15 (100%) | 0.5 |
| I think I would rather not know if I had cancer | 6 (12%) | 3 (7.0%) | 3 (20%) | 0.3 |
| At my age I do not need to worry about cancer | 9 (17%) | 6 (14%) | 6 (40%) | 0.1 |
| I would undergo cancer treatment that is unpleasant or painful if it would improve my chances of living longer | 46 (88%) | 41 (95%) | 15 (100%) | 0.3 |
| I would be afraid to tell my spouse that I have cancer because I think it would affect our relationship | 6 (12%) | 6 (14%) | 1 (6.7%) | 0.8 |
| There is not much that I can do to prevent getting cancer | 21 (40%) | 13 (30%) | 8 (53%) | 0.3 |
| I am very likely to get cancer in my lifetime | 29 (56%) | 19 (44%) | 3 (20%) | 0.047 |
| Benefits of getting a test to screen for cancer are greater than any inconvenience | 40 (77%) | 34 (79%) | 12 (80%) | > 0.9 |
| My family and friends would support me in doing a test to screen for cancer | 51 (98%) | 38 (88%) | 15 (100%) | 0.11 |
| With regards to doing a test to screen for cancer, I want to do what my family and friends think I should do | 32 (62%) | 32 (74%) | 10 (67%) | 0.4 |
| There is not much you can do to lower your chances of getting cancer | 18 (35%) | 9 (21%) | 6 (40%) | 0.2 |
| There are so many different recommendations about preventing cancer that it is hard to know which ones to follow | 41 (79%) | 31 (72%) | 14 (93%) | 0.2 |
| Cancer develops over a period of several years | 37 (71%) | 31 (72%) | 12 (80%) | 0.9 |
| There are ways to slow down or disrupt the development of cancer | 41 (79%) | 34 (79%) | 14 (93%) | 0.5 |
| Cancer is most often caused by a person’s behavior or lifestyle | 20 (38%) | 19 (44%) | 5 (33%) | 0.7 |
| It seems like almost everything causes cancer | 16 (31%) | 17 (40%) | 0 (0%) | 0.007 |
| You are reluctant to get checked for cancer because you fear you may have it | 20 (38%) | 15 (35%) | 5 (33%) | > 0.9 |
| People with cancer would have pain or other symptoms prior to being diagnosed | 38 (73%) | 29 (67%) | 14 (93%) | 0.14 |
| A person can have cancer without symptoms | 41 (80%) | 36 (84%) | 11 (73%) | 0.7 |
| Yes | ||||
| Family or friends have suggested to do a test to screen for cancer | 15 (29%) | 16 (38%) | 3 (20%) | 0.4 |
| Would do a test to screen for cancer if encouraged by health care provider | 50 (96%) | 39 (93%) | 14 (93%) | 0.6 |
| Would be able to request a test to screen for cancer from your health care provider | 42 (81%) | 39 (91%) | 13 (87%) | 0.4 |
| Has discussed personal risk for cancer with friends or relatives | 22 (42%) | 15 (35%) | 4 (27%) | 0.5 |
| Has discussed personal risk cancer with provider | 29 (56%) | 16 (37%) | 3 (20%) | 0.027 |
| How likely are you to do a test to screen for cancer within the next 12 months? | 0.5 | |||
| Not at all likely | 11 (21%) | 5 (12%) | 3 (20%) | |
| A little likely | 5 (9.6%) | 6 (14%) | 4 (27%) | |
| Somewhat likely | 16 (31%) | 10 (23%) | 2 (13%) | |
| Likely | 14 (27%) | 12 (28%) | 3 (20%) | |
| Very likely | 6 (12%) | 10 (23%) | 3 (20%) | |
| Compared to other people your age, how likely do you think it is that you could get cancer? Are you… | 0.5 | |||
| Much less likely | 6 (12%) | 2 (4.7%) | 2 (13%) | |
| Less likely | 8 (16%) | 8 (19%) | 3 (20%) | |
| No difference | 12 (24%) | 14 (33%) | 7 (47%) | |
| More likely | 20 (41%) | 15 (35%) | 2 (13%) | |
| Much more likely | 3 (6.1%) | 4 (9.3%) | 1 (6.7%) | |
| (Missing) | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Some people say that they either get cancer or they do not get it. They believe that there is nothing that can be done to prevent getting cancer. Do you… | 0.5 | |||
| Strongly disagree | 11 (22%) | 10 (23%) | 1 (6.7%) | |
| Disagree | 17 (33%) | 14 (33%) | 2 (13%) | |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 4 (7.8%) | 3 (7.0%) | 3 (20%) | |
| Agree | 13 (25%) | 11 (26%) | 6 (40%) | |
| Strongly agree | 6 (12%) | 5 (12%) | 3 (20%) | |
| (Missing) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Some people say that a person gets cancer as punishment for something they have done wrong. Do you… | 0.4 | |||
| Strongly disagree | 23 (45%) | 21 (49%) | 4 (27%) | |
| Disagree | 21 (41%) | 19 (44%) | 7 (47%) | |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 4 (7.8%) | 2 (4.7%) | 2 (13%) | |
| Agree | 3 (5.9%) | 1 (2.3%) | 1 (6.7%) | |
| Strongly agree | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (6.7%) | |
| (Missing) | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
n (%).Fisher’s exact test; Pearson’s Chi-squared test