Facione N C, Dodd M J
Cancer Pract. 1995 Jul-Aug;3(4):219-25.
One-third of women with self-discovered breast cancer are symptomatic for 3 months or more before seeking evaluation. Few studies examine women's accounts of this important time. Using narrative analysis in the style of Labov and Waletzky, breast cancer cases from a larger mixed-tumor sample of patients receiving chemotherapy were examined for the details of breast cancer symptom discovery and the events relevant to the timing of diagnosis and treatment. The majority (56.3%) of women in the sample sought evaluations within days, many proceeding to immediate diagnosis. Factors cited by women as influencing the delayed timing of initial provider evaluation were that they attributed the symptoms to a benign process, and they perceived gender role-related constraints. Many women in this younger-aged sample had false-negative mammographic examinations, and many reported receiving false reassurance from providers on initial consultation visits. Women who delayed evaluations sought them only as symptoms advanced.
三分之一自我发现患有乳腺癌的女性在寻求评估前出现症状达三个月或更长时间。很少有研究考察女性对这段重要时期的描述。采用拉波夫和瓦莱茨基风格的叙事分析方法，对接受化疗的更大规模混合肿瘤样本中的乳腺癌病例进行了研究，以了解乳腺癌症状发现的细节以及与诊断和治疗时间相关的事件。样本中的大多数女性（56.3%）在数天内就寻求了评估，许多人随即进行了诊断。女性提到的影响首次就诊延迟的因素包括，她们将症状归因于良性病变，以及她们意识到与性别角色相关的限制。在这个较年轻的样本中，许多女性的乳房X光检查结果为假阴性，而且许多人报告在初次会诊时从医生那里得到了错误的安慰。延迟评估的女性只有在症状加重时才会寻求评估。
