title: Delay in Presentation, Diagnosis, and Treatment for Breast Cancer Patients in Jordan.
abstract: Breast cancer is the most common cancer, and one of the leading causes of death for females in Jordan and many countries in the world. Studies have shown that delay in symptoms presentation, diagnosis or treatment would result in poor prognosis. There has been no published study from Jordan on delays in patient presentation, delays in diagnosis, or delays in treatment. Therefore, we conducted this study to assess these important quality indicators aiming to improve prognosis for breast cancer patients in Jordan. This project was a cross-sectional study on female breast cancer patients in Jordan. The total number of participants was 327. The proportion of patients with presentation delay, diagnosis delay, and treatment delay was 32.2%, 49.1%, or 32.4%, respectively. The main reported reasons for delay in presentation were ignorance of the nature of the problem (65.6%), limited/lack of knowledge that symptoms were suggestive of cancer diagnosis (16.7%), and misdiagnosis (16.7%). Predictors of delay and mean time for presentation, diagnosis, and treatment were identified. Our results reveal that breast cancer patients in Jordan are experiencing delays in presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. This could justify the advanced stages at diagnosis and poor outcomes for breast cancer patients in Jordan. We recommend revising the current early detection and down-staging programs in Jordan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Mutah University, Mutah, Jordan.
authors.forename: Ahmad Munir
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Abu-Helalah
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
authors.forename: Hussam Ahmad
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Alshraideh
authors.affiliation: Radiation Oncology, Royal Medical Services, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Mo'tasem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Hanaqtah
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Moh'd
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Da'na
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Asim
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Omari
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, AlBashir Hospital, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: Rasmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mubaidin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D008875:Middle Aged; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Jordan; breast cancer; delay; diagnosis; presentation; treatment