Table 3 Diagnosis delay and associated factors
From: Factors influencing diagnosis delay of advanced breast cancer in Moroccan women
N (%) | |
|---|---|
Causes of Diagnosis Delay (n = 137) | |
Cause related to patient | 96 (70.1) |
Cause related to health system | 19 (13.9) |
Cause related to patient and system | 22 (16.1) |
Factors related to patient delay (n = 118) | |
Symptoms not attributed to cancer | 66 (55.9) |
Lack of information | 49 (41.5) |
Symptoms related to breastfeeding | 12 (10.2) |
Symptoms related to benign breast disease | 5 (4.2) |
Use of traditional methods | 15 (12.7) |
Fear of cancer diagnosis and/or treatment | 14 (11.9) |
Financial constraints | 8 (6.8) |
Competing life priorities | 8 (6.8) |
Embarrassment about having a breast examination | 7 (5.9) |
Factors related to system delay (n = 41) | |
Negative physical breast examination | 10 (24.4) |
Non-specific medical treatment without control | 8 (19.5) |
A negative fine-needle aspiration biopsy | 8 (19.5) |
Appointment delay | 8 (19.5) |
Mammography misinterpreted | 4 (9.8) |
Surgical excision without pathological examination | 1 (2.4) |
Lack of information | 2 (4.9) |