Delay: a deterrent to cancer detection.

Delay in cancer detection is significant in affecting prognosis and therefore necessitates further study and clearer comprehension by physicians. Documentation has been made of the extent of delay in five different groups of patients with cancer and in one series of individuals selected not for cancer incidence but because they represented an advanced educational and socioeconomic level of society. Factors contributing to delay in all six groups included fear, denial, misconceptions and misinterpretation of signs and symptoms of cancer, and inadequate physician-patient communication. Several remedial measures are proposed for improving cancer control.