Table 1.
Summary of patient and health-system-related characteristics.
| Patient-Related Factors | MM | Lymphoma |
|---|---|---|
| Gender—male/female N | 26/27 | 21/26 |
| Age (years) median (range) | 53 (44–84) | 47 (19–81) |
| CIRS 1 median (range) | 5 (3–12) | 5 (3–11) |
| Education—no higher education/higher education N | 26/27 | 20/27 |
| Employment before disease—unemployed/employed N | 16/37 | 15/32 |
| Marital status—married/not married N | 37/16 | 24/23 |
| Anamnesis of oncological diseases among 1st order relatives—no/yes N | 32/21 | 34/13 |
| HADS 2 median (range) | 7 (0–24) | 7 (0–23) |
| Self-medication—no/yes N | 35/18 | 38/9 |
| Health-system-related factors | ||
| Place of residence—Vilnius/Kaunas/smaller cities N | 27/1/25 | 24/3/20 |
| First consulted doctor—general practitioner/other specialist N | 44/9 | 42/5 |
| Second consulted doctor—hematologist/other specialist N | 4/49 | 9/38 |
| Oncologic diagnosis suspected after first visit/not suspected N | 15/38 | 15/32 |
| Treatment 3 before correct diagnosis not administered/administered N | 22/31 | 28/19 |
| Number of specialists before correct diagnosis median (range) | 3 (2–8) | 3 (2–10) |
1 CIRS—Cumulative Illness Rating Scale. 2 HADS—Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. 3 Either symptomatic treatment such as cough syrup for lymphoma, pain killers and massages for suspected radiculitis in myeloma or antibiotics for suspected infection.