Article Sidebar
Published:
Oct 13, 2023Keywords:
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
On acceptance, the copyright of the paper will be vested in the journal and publisher. BOMJ subscribes to the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license to the work we publish to make articles legally available for reuse, without permission or fees.
Therefore, articles published in BOMJ can be copied, distributed, or reused as long as the author and original source are properly cited.
Main Article Content
Challenges of Distance to Access of Radiotherapy Management of Breast Cancer in Nigeria
Abstract
Background: The shortage of radiotherapy services in Nigeria has led to tremendous suffering for breast cancer patients across the country. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of distance on the care of breast cancer patients in Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study of breast cancer patients from 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2012 in University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Data obtained included biodata, disease features and follow-up information using a structured questionnaire. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate statistics was used to analyse the data. Results: We studied 504 breast cancer patients. The mean age of the patients was 47.7 (±10.6) years, late presentation with symptoms beyond 3 months was seen in 88.1% while advanced stage disease was seen in 58.7% of patients. Patients that lived at distances within 50 km and beyond 50 km from UCH, Ibadan were 74 (14.7%) and 430 (85.3%) respectively. Majority of the patients 87.3% completed treatment, however, 94.8% of patients treated during the period discontinued follow-up care at the end of the study. The reasons for discontinuation were “death”, “financial constraints” and “referred back to distant primary surgeon after treatment” accounting for 90 (18.8%), 230 (48.1%) and 158 (33.1%) respectively. The factors affected by distance were socioeconomic status [OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.42-6.01], bilateral breast cancer disease [OR=14.22; 95% CI = 7.32 – 27.620], left breast disease (OR=11.45; 95% CI = 5.89 – 22.62) and reasons for discontinuing follow-up care: financial constraints [OR=2.0; 95% CI =0.9 – 3.2], and referred back to primary breast surgeon [OR=3.0; 95% CI =1.3 – 6.0]. Conclusion: Long distance and shortage of functioning radiotherapy centres in Nigeria are critical challenges for breast cancer treatment, leading patients to late presentation with advanced disease and poor compliance with follow-up care. Therefore, more centres should be built in each state to minimise these challenges.
