Discover The Perceptions And Experiences Of Breast Cancer Patients In Southern Malawi.

Discover The Perceptions And Experiences Of Breast Cancer Patients In Southern Malawi.

Palesa Chisala – Chabunya

Breast cancer is the 4th most common cancer in females in Malawi. With early diagnosis and access to modern treatment in a timely manner, the prognosis is good. Breast cancer in Malawi, however, does not always have the best outcome. The reason for this may be due to access to appropriate care. It has been noted that 9.5% of breast cancer patients will survive beyond 18 months. This proportion is significantly lower than the survival seen in High income countries. Delayed presentation is a major factor for this outcome. Understanding the factors for this delay may bring about solutions to improve the outcome. Our objectives were to understand the perception of breast cancer, discover the barriers and enablers to breast cancer care, and understanding the experiences of breast cancer patients. This is a descriptive qualitative study using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with various health care workers as well as breast cancer patients using convenient sampling methodology. Preliminary findings of this study show that the contributing factors towards delayed presentation of patients with breast cancer are multifactorial. The lack of appropriate services coupled with the perceptions of breast cancer within the community facilitate the delays among breast cancer patients and their diagnosis. This requires both mindset change within the community, as well equipping the healthcare workers that service the community with the appropriate knowledge and tools to better identify breast cancer.

Keywords: breast, cancer, outcome, Malawi