Late presentation of breast cancer: A Dilemma

Objective: to asses factors responsible for late presentation of breast cancer in nawabshah. methods: this descriptive study was conducted at a private and a public sector hospital of nawabshah, pakistan, from jan 2004 to dec 2008. results: sixty females were admitted and selected as study subjects during the study period with mean age of 43.5±10.38 years and range (28-80 years). patients with poor economic status were 49(81.6%) and remaining 11 (18.3%) were from middle class. sixteen (26.6%) patients were literate, with 3 of them being educated to secondary level. in our study 58 (96.6%) patients with breast carcinoma noted lumps in respective breasts as incidental findings in breast self-examination. only in 2 (3.3%) patients family physicians noted a lump and referred them to a proper health care facility. fifty-eight (96.6%) patients belonged to rural areas. in 95% patients, first visit regarding the breast symptoms was made after 6 months of initiation of symptoms. three (5%) patients in this study presented in stage i, 15(25%) in stage ii, 23 (38.3%) in stage iii and 19 (31.6%) in stage iv. conclusion: most cases of breast cancer presented in advanced stage probably due to poor economic status, illiteracy and negligence by patients or their family members and general practioners.