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Feb 19, 2023Article Details
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Breast cancer: Factors influencing late-stage presentation at the Mankweng Hospital breast cancer clinic, Polokwane, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Abstract
Background. Female breast cancer remains the most common cancer in many parts of the world. According to GLOBOCAN (2021), female breast cancer has become the most commonly diagnosed cancer, surpassing lung cancer. Women in low- and middle-income countries are reported to seek medical help at an advanced stage of the disease, which negatively affects the prognosis, irrespective of the care available.
Objectives. To determine factors influencing late-stage diagnosis of breast cancer in women at the specialist breast cancer clinic at Mankweng Hospital in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Methods. The study was conducted at the Mankweng breast cancer clinic in the rural province of Limpopo over the 18-month period July 2020 - December 2021 and applied a quasi-experimental design to determine the stage of breast cancer at the time of presentation to the clinic, and factors influencing late-stage presentation.
Results. Of the study sample, 269 patients were female (98%) and 5 male (2%). The majority of the females (n=203; 75%) had late-stage cancer at presentation, only 66 (25%) being in the early stages.
Conclusion. Most of the patients (76%) presented with late-stage disease. The main reason for the delay was lack of knowledge about breast cancer and its symptoms (not painful, not considered serious). Of concern is the higher proportion of educated patients presenting with late-stage disease compared with the group with a lower level of education.
