TY - JOUR
T1 - Delay in seeking care for cancer symptoms
T2 - A population-based study of elderly new mexicans
AU - Samet, Jonathan M.
AU - Hunt, William C.
AU - Lerchen, Mary L.
AU - Goodwin, James S.
N1 - Funding Information:
'Received December 21, 1987; revised February 26, 1988; accepted February 29, 1988. Supported by Public Health Service (PHS) grant CA-36592 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services; and by PHS contract CN-55426 from the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, NCI. 3Department of Medicine, The University of New Mexico Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM 87131. 4New Mexico Tumor Registry, Cancer Center, The University of New Mexico Medical Center. 'Department of Family, Community, and Emergency Medicine, Cancer Center, The University of New Mexico Medical Center. 6Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
PY - 1988/5/18
Y1 - 1988/5/18
N2 - To characterize the delay by the elderly in seeking care for cancer symptoms, we interviewed 800 New Mexicans, =65 years of age, with newly diagnosed cancer. Overall, 29.4% of the subjects were asymptomatic when cancer was detected, and 48.0% presented within 2 months of symptom onset. However, 19.2% of the subjects delayed seeking care for at least 12 weeks and 7.4% delayed at least 1 year. Site of cancer was the strongest determinant of delay. Hispanics tended to report longer delay than non-Hispanics, and age was not associated with delay. Of the numerous other factors considered, only having a regular checkup was significantly associated with delay interval. [J Natl Cancer Inst 1988; 80: 432-438].
AB - To characterize the delay by the elderly in seeking care for cancer symptoms, we interviewed 800 New Mexicans, =65 years of age, with newly diagnosed cancer. Overall, 29.4% of the subjects were asymptomatic when cancer was detected, and 48.0% presented within 2 months of symptom onset. However, 19.2% of the subjects delayed seeking care for at least 12 weeks and 7.4% delayed at least 1 year. Site of cancer was the strongest determinant of delay. Hispanics tended to report longer delay than non-Hispanics, and age was not associated with delay. Of the numerous other factors considered, only having a regular checkup was significantly associated with delay interval. [J Natl Cancer Inst 1988; 80: 432-438].
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U2 - 10.1093/jnci/80.6.432
DO - 10.1093/jnci/80.6.432
M3 - Article
C2 - 3367383
AN - SCOPUS:0023905162
SN - 0027-8874
VL - 80
SP - 432
EP - 438
JO - Journal of the National Cancer Institute
JF - Journal of the National Cancer Institute
IS - 6
ER -