KINGSTON, Jamaica — Public health specialist, Dr Marcia Johnson-Campbell, is encouraging Jamaican women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to seek support and follow through with timely treatment, to ensure the best outcomes.

She noted that early detection remains critical in improving survival.

“Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. Delays in diagnosis and treatment are directly linked to poor outcomes,” Dr Johnson-Campbell said.

Dr Johnson-Campbell, who is the regional priority non-communicable disease and family health coordinator with the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), was presenting research on delays in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, at a recent JIS Think Tank.

The research, which was conducted as part of her Doctor of Public Health degree at the University of the West Indies, earned her awards for Most Impactful Oral Presentation and Best Student Oral Presentation at the recent 16th annual National Health Research Conference.

Titled ‘Assessment of delays to diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer among patients accessing care at the Cornwall Regional Hospital’, the study examined cases of women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2012 and 2016 in western Jamaica and found significant delays between the discovery of symptoms and the start of treatment.

“The mean or the average time between persons discovering that there was a problem and starting the treatment was 44 weeks or 11 months,” Dr Johnson-Campbell told JIS News.

“The longer it takes to identify and start treatment, the poorer the outcome”, she pointed out.

The research revealed that women took an average of 18 weeks to seek medical attention after noticing symptoms, while the time between the first doctor’s visit and the start of treatment averaged 27 weeks.

More than 58 per cent of patients  delayed treatment longer than the recommended international standard of six months.

Dr Johnson-Campbell noted that while public awareness of breast cancer exists, many women do not recognise their personal risk.

“Persons were aware; they had their breast cancer pin, they wore their breast cancer pin, but they did not recognise that they were at risk,” she pointed out, noting that many persons indicated that “they did not think it would happen to them”.

She is encouraging women to take practical steps to detect the disease early.

“A monthly self-breast examination is something that all women should do once they get to age 21. Having an annual mammogram done after the age of 40 is also an important thing. Even though it may be costly, it is worth the investment,” she pointed out.

She noted that “in many cases, individuals who receive a diagnosis of cancer think it’s a death sentence, but we continue to spread a message of hope that it is not, and really, no one should go through a diagnosis of cancer alone”.

Dr Johnson-Campbell’s research also calls for expanded access to screening, improved diagnostic turnaround times, and stronger national policies to reduce breast cancer deaths in Jamaica.

— JIS