Younger, poorer women see breast cancer care delays

Younger, poorer breast cancer patients may experience delays in medical care, according to a new study published online in the journal Cancer.

Dr. Kathryn Ruddy, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and colleagues surveyed 585 women age 40 or younger who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The team found that 80% of the women detected their own breast abnormalities (Cancer, November 11, 2013).

Among women with self-detected breast cancers, 17% experienced a delay of at least 90 days before they visited a healthcare provider for an evaluation, and 12% reported a delay of at least 90 days between that visit and their diagnosis, the researchers found.

Because the study suggests that women who are less financially secure are more likely to delay seeking medical attention for breast abnormalities that later are diagnosed as breast cancer, economic disparity may be an important consideration in future development of interventions to reduce delays, according to Ruddy.

"The findings may lead to research focusing on whether reducing copays and 'hidden' costs of seeking medical care -- such as parking charges, childcare expenses, and lost wages -- may improve the timeliness of diagnosis in this population," she said in a statement released by Wiley, the journal's publisher.