This descriptive study, with a quantitative approach, identified the social, clinical and demographic profile, and the time interval between the diagnostic and therapeutic stages, from symptoms to adjuvant treatment, of the women with breast cancer treated in an oncology institution in Santa Catarina, Brazil. Data was collected from interviews and the medical records of thirteen women, between August and December 2010. The analysis was supported by scientific recommendations for the treatment of breast cancer, and by descriptive statistics. The results show the illness's high incidence among women between 40 -49 years of age, who are married, and with schooling up to junior high school level. The median time interval until the start of treatment was 245 days, with a further 54 days to the adjuvancy. The findings evidence the advance stage and explain the urgency for the implementation of care for the woman with breast cancer and the National Oncology Care Policy.
Nursing; Breast neoplasms; Delayed diagnosis
