Medical system factors for delays in care seen less often than patient factors<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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MONDAY, April 15, 2024 (HealthDay News) — A significant proportion of young women with breast cancer experience diagnostic delay, most often related to patient factors, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, held from April 6 to 10 in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n
Katherine Fleshner, M.D., from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and colleagues evaluated the diagnostic timeline among a cohort of women aged 40 years and younger with breast cancer and identified predictors of diagnostic delay. The analysis included 1,148 patients followed for five years.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that 36.8 percent of participants also had a first-degree relative with cancer.\u00a0Most patients (89.0 percent) had a symptom prompting assessment, including, most commonly, a palpable mass (77.3 percent). Patients reported waiting a median of two weeks before seeking care, with one-third of participants experiencing a patient delay. Lack of concern, waiting a menstrual cycle, reassurance by another practitioner, difficulty accessing care, and competing priorities were reasons given for patient delays. Having a painful lump as the presenting symptom and having a first-degree relative with breast cancer were independent predictors of patient delay. In contrast, 10.1 percent of participants experienced a system delay. There were no independent predictors of system delay identified.<\/p>\n
“Premenopausal breast cancer is uncommon, but accelerating the diagnostic timeline is extremely important,” Fleshner said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Press Release<\/a><\/p>\n