Breast cancer has the highest incidence among women, and reduces survival among female sufferers. This article aims to evaluate the survival and its prognostic factors in women with breast cancer, treated by public sector, in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Retrospective cohort study nested in a case-control. The data has been obtained by a questionnaire, by the review of records and death certifications. In the analysis of survival it has been applied the Kaplan-Meier's statistical method and the Cox's method. 170 women have been evaluated. The survival in ten years was 83.1% (95% CI 74.1 to 89.3%), and 21 (12.4%) deaths were identified at the time period. The probability of being alive was smaller for those in advanced stages of cancer; the risk of death was higher among those who had another kinds of cancer associated, and among those unsatisfied with life. The death's ratio was 17.1 times bigger among women diagnosed in advanced stages. The variable staging presented higher association with the survival in evaluated women. Detecting the disease early minimizes the mortality by breast cancer.
Breast neoplasms; Neoplasm staging; Survival analysis