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Abstract Background Breast Cancer remains among the top five cancers responsible for morbidity and mortality globally. For many years, infectious (communicable) diseases were a primary concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared to higher-income countries, where non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were already a major concern. However, starting from the early 2000s, the LMICs including Tanzania has witnessed an epidemiological transition being equally affected by NCDs, and breast cancer, is among the prevalent NCDs. While the evidence is vast on the role of breast cancer screening messages in promoting screening, debunking myths, and addressing barriers to the uptake of breast cancer services, context-specific messages are limited. Amidst the changing technology, growth of social media and cultural dynamics, context-specific breast cancer screening messages are needed. We aimed to analyze the breast cancer screening messages from the experiences of women seeking care at Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Tanzania. Methods An exploratory qualitative case study adopting in-depth interviews (IDI) and focused group discussion (FGD) was carried out among purposefully selected women aged from 18 years to 65 years seeking care from Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Eighteen women participated in the IDIs, and 16 women participated in FGD. Data analysis followed inductive qualitative content analysis. Findings Three main categories emerged: the existence of multiple sources of breast cancer screening messages, the strengths and weaknesses of breast cancer screening messages, and clients’ mixed perceptions of breast cancer screening messages. Conclusion The findings of this study depict that although breast cancer screening promotion messages are regarded as a source of information about cancers, they fall short of completeness and relevance to the otherwise at-risk population and trigger negative perceptions toward screening. Therefore, this study advocates revisiting the breast cancer screening messages, employing participatory approaches to tailor the screening messages and communication media to fit specific audiences. This calls for re-designing both the content of the messages and means of delivery; thus, collaborative efforts are needed.

Worldwide, there has been an increase in the breast cancer mortality rate, with disproportionately high rates in low and middle-income countries. Addressing breast cancer starts with early detection through screening services. In Tanzania, despite being among countries with high rates of breast cancer, screening services uptake has remained low. This study aimed to explore the drivers for breast cancer screening among women accessing health care services at a specialized cancer treatment hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We adopted an exploratory case study employing qualitative techniques to analyze the drivers for breast cancer screening among women in Dar es Salaam. We interviewed four groups of respondents: women with breast cancer attending cancer treatment clinics, young women and old women without breast cancer attending cancer screening units, and older women who do not show up for breast cancer screening. From analysis of the in-depth interviews and focus group discussions we found that the drivers for breast cancer screening operate at different levels; individual as a centre of making the decision to be screened, family as an attribute to decide uptake of screening, the society drivers, the healthcare providers related drivers and health facility related drivers. These attributes were found to influence women's decisions to screen, and the possibility of uptake of breast cancer screening was dependent on family and social motivation. In most instances, women were driven to utilize breast cancer screening when the services were readily available at their neighbouring health facilities. The findings from this study have enlightened that people's decision about utilizing breast cancer screening services is based not only on perceptions of their risk but also on fellow community members who have survived the disease, the experiences of breast cancer screening services from their networks and the performance of healthcare institutions in delivery of such services. The use of breast cancer survivors' support groups to promote breast cancer screening services is advocated from the findings of our study.