Cancer Care Delivery Among Breast Cancer Patients: Is it the Same for All?

Among Hispanic women, breast cancer is the most common cancer accounting for close to 30% of the total cancer cases. It is estimated that in 2018 alone, 24,000 Hispanics were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Of significant importance is that breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death (16%) among Hispanic women, with over 3000 patients dying in 2018 secondary to this disease. Despite the decrease in breast cancer mortality rates seen in recent years, the magnitude of that decrease among Hispanics is lower compared to the decrease seen among non-Hispanic White women (1.1% per year vs 1.8% per year). Potential contributing factors associated with this phenomenon include the fact that Hispanics are more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced stages and to have tumors with aggressive biology. In addition, sociodemographic factors and difficulty accessing medical care are likely to play an important role. It has been described that Hispanic women are less likely that non-Hispanic Whites to receive appropriate and timely breast cancer treatment. In this chapter, we will review the complexities of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. We will briefly review some of the challenges in cancer care delivery that Hispanics experience and will review data describing the detrimental impact that treatment delays can have among minorities and some of the unique challenges that Hispanics experience.