title: Women's awareness of cancer symptoms: a review of the literature.
abstract: Improvements in cancer detection and treatment have led to consistent declines in mortality from many cancers. However, many patients present for treatment at a point where more invasive treatment is required and/or treatment outcomes are less than optimal. One factor that has been consistently shown to be associated with late diagnosis and treatment is delay in seeking help for symptoms. This paper reviews the literature on women's awareness of cancer symptoms and aims to identify knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to improve help-seeking behaviors. The discovery of substantial gaps in awareness suggest a need for improved community education regarding cancer symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Initiatives, University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia. sandraj@uow.edu.au
authors.forename: Sandra C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Keryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000592:standards; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; D016387:Women's Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data