Background and aim The most important reason for the high mortality rates of cancer is the low level of awareness, which leads to a late diagnosis and the treatments starting too late. For this reason, it is important for individuals, especially at younger ages, to gain awareness and integrate taking the necessary precautions into their lifestyle in order to prevent cancer and ensure early diagnosis. This study was performed with the goal of determine the levels of awareness of students studying in two different campuses of a university in the Western Black Sea Region on cancer and its symptoms.

Methods This descriptive/cross sectional study was performed in a university in the Western Black Sea Region between 01. February.2013–01. April.2013. Students studying in the 2012–2013 academic year in a university in the Western Black Sea Region formed the universe of the study. The study was performed in two separate campuses belonging to the university.

Results The average age of the students was 22.01 ± 3.63. While female students were the majority in the health sciences campus (74.8%), male students were the majority in the central campus (76.5%). 57.5% were male. 9.6% of the students from the health sciences campus and 12.4% of the students from the central campus thought that cancer was communicable, while most of the students from both campuses knew that smoking caused cancer. It can also be seen that the rate of answering questions regarding cancer correctly was higher among students studying in the health sciences campus.

Conclusion It was determined that students who do not study at the health campus have insufficient information on cancer, cancer symptoms, and the presence of breast cancer in males and approximately half of them regarded obesity as a risk factor for cancer.