Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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Comparative Study
'I thought it would go away': patient denial in breast cancer.
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.
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Mastalgia commonly presents to medical practitioners. The majority of patients can be managed by exclusion of cancer and reassurance. In some the severity of pain affects the quality of life and drug treatment should be considered. ⋯ Overall 92% of those with cyclical mastalgia and 64% with non-cyclical mastalgia obtained a clinically useful response to therapy. Danazol was the most effective drug, with bromocriptine and evening primrose oil having equivalent efficacy. Many fewer adverse events were complained of by patients treated with evening primrose oil than danazol or bromocriptine.