Factors Influencing Delayed Presentation of Breast Cancer among Saudi Women

Breast cancer is the most frequent diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, accounting for 25 % (1.67 million) of the total new cancer cases diagnosed in 2012. At Kingdome of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Breast cancer ranked first among females cancers. Delayed presentation of breast cancer and the consequent delayed treatment are associated with negative breast cancer outcomes in terms of survival rate, advanced stages at diagnosis, bigger tumor size with positive lymph nodes. Although some factors associated with a delay in breast cancer care had been described in the literature, there is very little data about delay in breast cancer presentation among Saudi women who have unique cultural and socio-economic characteristics. The purpose of this study was to measure the length of patient delay time and to identify its influencing factors rather than system delay. A descriptive cross-sectional design was applied. Structured interviews have been conducted to collect the data from 56 Saudi women diagnosed with breast cancer. Result showed that 39.3 % of women presented to physician within 12 weeks while 60.7 % delayed more than 12 weeks. The mean of delay time was 15.1 week 6.57 (range 0.14-27.14 weeks). This study revealed several reasons and barriers behind patient delay, and clarified the effect of several variables on longer delay time. The current study had some implications for research and practice. There is an urgent need for constructing a national program to overcome the difficulties and barriers faced by breast cancer patients.