Cl1N1CA1AND SOC1Al FACTORS . AFFECTING TilE TIME TO CANCER D1AGNOS1S 1N CHilDREN

Abstract

During the period of study, interview questionnaire including: patient's age; level of education of patient's parents and the chief complaint was administrated to !50 patients and their families. Fifty eight percent of patients were males and 77.3% were older than one year of age. Forty two percent of parents were illiterate and 20% were college graduates. The chief complaint was fever and I or fatigue in 70 patients. Ninety two patients had Leukaemias and lymphomas. Only 37 patients were diagnosed within the first 4 weeks of onset of symptoms. Patients with Leukaemias were diagnosed without delay. The chief complaint and the type of malignancy significantly affected the time of diagnosis.