Breast Cancer Diagnosis Among Mexican Participants: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to describe the timely perceived diagnosis of Breast Cancer (BC) among fifteen participants living in western Mexico, as well as both the time points and intervals for diagnosing BC. Design: A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was conducted. Site: Instituto Jalisciense de Cancerología (Cancer Institute of Jalisco, IJC per the Spanish acronym), a tertiary care hospital for cancer patients run by the Ministry of Health of the State of Jalisco, Mexico, located in the city of Guadalajara, which is the capital of the state. Participants: fifteen female participants living in the state of Jalisco and whose histopathological diagnosis of BC was made at IJC during the 2013-2017 period. Methods: semi-structured interviews were conducted. The ATLAS.ti program was used for content analysis. Results: twelve participants received a late diagnosis (stages IIB-IV). However, they considered that their diagnoses were timely. Most of the participants stated they perceived a positive timely diagnosis, because they considered that being alive is attributable to a timely diagnosis, which is related to seeking medical care quickly and the work and procedures made by the health professionals. Conclusions: the perception of the female participants regarding the diagnosis timeliness can be quite different from that of the clinical stage made by the doctors. A combination of beliefs, culture, inequities in access and quality of health services, as well as the fear of having BC contributed to increase the time spent when seeking and receiving medical care. Thus, health education for early BC diagnosis is strongly recommended.