This Californian study explored diagnostic and therapeutic care delays among a multi-ethnic sample of 1377 breast and cervical cancer survivors and examined contextual factors influencing diagnostic and therapeutic care delays. The study cohort comprised 449 European American, 185 African American, 468 Latina American, and 275 Asian American survivors. Latina Americans were significantly more likely to report diagnostic delays, whereas African Americans were significantly more likely to report therapeutic delays. In terms of cancer type, cervical cancer survivors (n=679) were significantly more likely to report diagnostic and therapeutic delays compared with the 698 breast cancer survivors. “Fear of finding cancer” was the most frequently cited reason for diagnostic delays, and “medical reasons” were most frequently cited for therapeutic delays.
