The Impact of Delays in Low-Income Women's Breast Cancer Experiences.

Background: Low-income, underinsured and uninsured women are less likely to be diagnosed via mammogram and more often diagnosed at later stages, with a resultant negative impact on survival. The New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection Program provides access to cancer screening services for low-income, underinsured and uninsured individuals. This program was recently evaluated, and it was found that enrollees were more likely to be diagnosed at later stages than nonenrollees, which may be related to delays in diagnosis and treatment OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine if there were delays in diagnosis and treatment for program enrollees and, if so, what were the causes of these delays.