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CLINICAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN YOUNG WOMEN WITH BREAST CARCINOMA
Author(s) -
Me M.,
Teh C. H.,
Chua C. L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1992.tb07204.x
Subject(s) - medicine , breast carcinoma , carcinoma , oncology , breast cancer , gynecology , cancer
Studies have noted that Asian women tend to have invasive breast cancer at a younger age compared with their Western counterparts. This is a rising trend among women in Singapore. This study compares 46 women < 35 years with 313 women > 35 years who were treated in a teaching hospital between January 1983 and December 1989. Despite better education, the younger women (≤ 35 years) were no different from their older counterparts in delaying medical consultation for more than 3 months after self‐detection (39 vs 38.6%) though a higher percentage of older women procrastinated for over a year (16.6 vs 6.5%). As a result, 28% of younger women and 21.6% of older women presented with late disease (TNM Stage III and IV). Primary healthcare physicians contributed towards further delay among 65% of women ≤ 35 years. They were more suspicious when breast lumps were detected in women > 35 years and only 8% had delayed referrals. Failure in advising early biopsy added further delay (> 3 months) in 27.6% of younger patients whereas it was seldom delayed for the other older group (0.3%). Eight patients < 35 years were initially reluctant to undergo definitive surgery. These cumulative delays resulted in progression of disease in seven patients of the 11 patients whose therapy was delayed more than 6 months