‘I Thought it Would Go Away’: Patient Denial in Breast Cancer

Journal of the Royal Society of MedicinePublished 1 April 1992Open access

M Phelan, John Dobbs, Anthony S. David

DOI10.1177/014107689208500409

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Citations27

SJR quartileQ1

SJR score1.71

SNIP1.79

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TL;DR

The women who presented late did not appear to fit into any particular socio-demographic category, but examination of their histories revealed widespread denial of illness and a diversity of beliefs and behaviour.

Abstract

A significant proportion of patients with cancer present late to the doctor. The characteristics of these patients and the reasons behind their delaying behaviour is poorly understood. In this study a group of 30 women with breast cancer who delayed their presentation were compared with a randomly selected group with the same disease. The women who presented late did not appear to fit into any particular socio-demographic category, but examination of their histories revealed widespread denial of illness and a diversity of beliefs and behaviour.

Keywords

MedicineHealth Professions

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