Search

Background: A study of system delay, the time between the initial medical consultation and the establishment of a diagnosis, in breast cancer patients revealed that almost 40% of women reported delays of at least 4 weeks. The objective of this study was to explore the reasons for these prolonged intervals between initial medical consultation and establishment of a diagnosis., Methods: A total of 367 female breast cancer patients from the National Cancer Institute's Black/White Cancer Survival Study were studied. Medical systems involved in the diagnosis and treatment of these women included hospital outpatient and emergency room, private clinic, public clinic, private doctor, and health maintenance organization., Results: In about 25% of the cases, the delay was attributed by the woman to the patient herself, and the most common reason she gave was that she felt that the problem was not important. In about 45% of the cases, the provider and the health care system were said to be responsible for the delay through difficulties in scheduling or physician inaction, while in another 17% both the patient and the system were responsible., Conclusions: This study looked at the issue of how the behaviors of women and their providers contribute to the timing of breast cancer diagnosis. It is one of the only studies to examine the woman's role in delay. It is clear from this study that additional work is needed to look at this question. However, the results of this study suggest that efforts must be made to reduce the time needed to get an appointment with a physician or a diagnostic test, as well as to educate physicians and the women themselves regarding the importance of breast symptoms and the value of prompt evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment.

Survival differences have been noted between black women and white women with breast cancer. It is hypothesized that a prolonged interval between initial medical consultation and establishment of a diagnosis (system delay), resulting in a more advanced stage of disease at diagnosis, might explain part of this survival difference. This study was performed to determine whether system delay differs between black and white breast cancer patients, and to examine predictors of delay in blacks and whites. The study population consisted of 996 female breast cancer patients from the National Cancer Institute's Black/White Cancer Survival Study, a cohort study carried out in 1985-1986 in the metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Georgia, New Orleans, Louisiana, and San Francisco/Oakland, California. The median system delay was slightly longer for blacks than for whites--2.7 weeks versus 2.1 weeks--but this difference was not statistically significant. Having a palpable lump at diagnosis was associated with reduced system delay in both races, while use of a public clinic increased system delay for blacks. Older women were less likely to be subject to longer system delay than younger women, and this effect was somewhat more pronounced in whites. Survival differences between blacks and whites are probably not due to differences in system delay. However, many women had delays of at least 3 months. Given that younger age and the absence of a palpable lump were the factors most predictive of significant system delay, interventions should be targeted specifically toward reducing system delay in younger women who present without the classical painless lump.