Background. In Romania there is a discrepancy between breast cancer incidence (the 22 place in Europe) and mortality rate (the 8th place in Europe), probably determined by late diagnosis. The study aims to find associations between the delayed diagnosis in breast cancer and a series of socio-psychological and medical characteristics of the patients. Methods. 101 breast cancer patients were administered a battery of tests for depression, anxiety, stress, coping mechanism, social support, social status, medical and family history and the time between first symptoms and diagnosis. Inclusion criteria were age over 18 years old, pathologic confirmation of breast cancer, at least one type of oncologic treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and/or targeted therapy). Exclusion criteria were altered general status, untreated brain metastases, spatial temporal disorientation, decompensated psychiatric comorbidity, severe pain. Results. Delayed presentation was positively correlated with both the age of the patients (p = 0.031) and age at diagnosis (p = 0.017), medical history (p = 0.048), low use of refocusing on planning coping style (p = 0.042). Conclusions. Coping styles, medical history of chronic illness influence delayed diagnosis of breast cancer, which is potentially contributing to a bad prognosis. Further longitudinal studies and screening procedures could contribute to a better understanding of the individual contribution of these factors to delayed diagnosis.
Psychological factors influencing delayed diagnosis for breast cancer patients
