Presentation delay in breast cancer patients, identifying the barriers among women receiving breast cancer drugs at Hawassa University Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia

Background: Breast cancer remains the most common cancer and most common cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide [1]. While incidence rates have historically been higher in the developed world, there has been a recent sharp increase in incidence and mortality in the developing world [2]. Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to assess the barriers resulting in delayed patient presentation to breast cancer care among women receiving breast cancer drugs at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. This study was the first conducted in Hawassa. Methods: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study design was done from June 01, 2017 to December 30, 2017 to answer the study objectives. All delayed 106 women receiving breast cancer drug during data collection period participated in the study. Structured data collection tool which encompass possible barriers in developing countries were applied to collect data from each study subject. Before the data collection, written ethical clearance letter was obtained from IRB of Hawassa University. Data entry was done using EPI Info 3.5.4 and exported to SPSS version 20.0 software package for analysis. Results: This study revealed that delay is multifactorial. Of 106 delayed women to breast cancer care, 98.1% did not have knowledge about sign and symptom of breast cancer; about 71.7% of them were late thinking that the breast cancer lump was not dangerous enough to consult expert health professionals and 64.2% of mothers delayed using alternative medicines such as prayer, herbal remedy or traditional healers. There was no significant statistical association found with major causes of delay and sociodemographic characteristics of the women. Conclusion: A significant percentage of women with breast cancer in Hawassa and nearby were experiencing presentation delay due to sociocultural, economic and health and health-related causes. Hence, an intense and focused awareness campaign about breast cancer is needed to educate the general population by the Ethiopian Cancer Association, Federal Ministry of Health, Regional Health Offices and any other concerned body. Refereed/Peer-reviewed