Table 1.

Population characteristics and breast cancer treatment delay

				Treatment Delay > 30 days
	Na	%b	Mean Treatment Delay (SE) [days]	N	%b	Pc
All	601	100.0	28.0 (0.7)	240	39.5
Race
White	314	79.0	27.3 (0.9)	112	38.4	0.24
African American	287	21.0	30.4 (1.0)	128	43.4
Age at diagnosis (years)
20–39	69	6.9	26.9 (1.4)	27	36.5	0.22
40–49	221	21.3	27.0 (1.0)	86	34.2
50–64	214	46.8	29.3 (1.2)	91	44.3
65–74	97	25.1	26.6 (1.5)	36	35.7
Education
0–12 years, no high school degree	65	10.1	27.9 (2.3)	21	40.4	0.23
High school graduate/GED	119	19.9	28.1 (1.6)	55	43.8
Technical or business school	59	10.7	28.3 (2.4)	24	42.5
Some college	125	20.3	24.5 (1.5)	42	27.8
College degree or higher	233	39.0	29.6 (1.1)	98	42.2
Income ($)
≤20,000	124	20.1	28.6 (1.5)	50	39.0	0.45
20,000 – 30,000	67	8.6	32.9 (2.0)	38	54.6
30,000 – 50,000	98	19.0	27.8 (1.8)	38	37.2
50,000 – 100,000	162	29.2	28.0 (1.5)	62	39.6
>100,000	109	23.1	26.8 (1.6)	40	36.0
Marital status
Married	336	59.3	27.8 (0.9)	135	41.0	0.72
Formerly married	191	33.1	28.1 (1.3)	76	36.9
Never married	74	7.6	28.9 (2.2)	29	38.8
Household size
1	151	28.0	27.4 (1.5)	51	35.2	0.011
2	212	42.6	29.3 (1.1)	102	47.3
3	103	12.4	28.6 (1.8)	45	40.7
4	84	10.4	25.6 (1.9)	29	28.5
>4	50	6.6	24.1 (1.8)	13	22.7
Working since diagnosis
No	303	54.0	26.4 (1.0)	110	36.6	0.24
Yes	295	46.0	29.7 (1.1)	129	42.5
Lost job due to diagnosis
No	568	96.5	27.5 (0.7)	221	37.8	<0.01
Yes	29	3.5	38.1 (3.3)	17	73.6
Current insurance
Private	404	69.2	28.3 (0.9)	165	41.3	0.31
Medicare	88	19.9	26.0 (1.6)	30	34.3
Medicaid	66	6.0	29.6 (2.7)	29	45.7
None	38	4.9	28.1 (2.0)	14	26.5
Unable to see a doctor because of finances (in past 10 years)
No	475	83.9	27.6 (0.8)	184	39.0	0.67
Yes	126	16.1	29.7 (1.6)	56	41.7
Unable to see a doctor because of lack of transportation (in past 10 years)
No	568	97.1	27.9 (0.7)	226	39.4	0.82
Yes	33	2.9	30.0 (3.4)	14	41.6
Family history
None	345	56.3	28.6 (1.0)	137	40.6	0.90
First-degree	81	14.0	26.2 (1.7)	33	40.1
Second-degree	132	21.6	28.1 (1.5)	53	38.3
Both	43	8.1	26.4 (2.4)	17	33.8
Method of detection
Routine mammogram	260	52.6	29.3 (1.1)	111	44.0	0.27
Clinical breast exam	33	5.5	24.2 (3.0)	11	31.5
Self-or spouse-detected	293	40.1	26.5 (0.9)	110	34.7
Other	12	1.9	32.3 (6.1)	6	40.5
Symptoms
No	384	68.5	28.9 (0.9)	163	42.5	0.064
Yes	217	31.5	26.0 (1.2)	77	32.9
AJCC disease stage
I	245	47.4	27.6 (1.1)	94	39.5	0.60
IIA	160	26.3	28.9 (1.5)	67	42.2
IIB	94	13.1	28.6 (1.6)	47	41.9
III/IV	101	13.1	26.8 (1.7)	32	31.7
First treatment
Breast conserving surgery	312	55.2	26.3 (1.0)	104	35.6	0.16
Mastectomy	180	30.0	30.8 (1.4)	89	46.0
Neoadjuvant therapy	109	14.8	28.3 (1.6)	47	40.7
Immediate reconstructiond
No	112	64.6	26.0 (1.5)	43	35.6	<0.01
Yes	68	35.4	39.4 (2.1)	46	64.9
I am satisfied with how I am coping
Quite a bit/very much	423	71.1	27.6 (0.8)	166	38.0	0.50
Somewhat/ a little bit	153	24.3	28.4 (1.5)	63	41.9
Not at all	23	4.6	31.1 (3.7)	11	51.0
I have accepted my illness
Quite a bit/very much	471	80.1	28.0 (0.8)	193	39.6	0.75
Somewhat/ a little bit	118	18.4	27.9 (1.8)	41	37.9
Not at all	11	1.5	26.3 (5.7)	6	53.4

SE: standard error; AJCC: American Joint Committee on Cancer

^aCategory totals may not sum to 601 (study population total) due to missing values

^bPercentages represent overall population estimates calculated using weighted frequency data

^cP value from χ² test

^dPercentages were calculated based on women who underwent mastectomy as their first course of treatment