ABSTRACT
This study aims to analyze the health assistance pathway of women living in Rio de Janeiro city diagnosed with cervix cancer who were referred for treatment in a referral oncology unit. In the first stage of the study, we evaluated time elapsed between the cancer diagnosis and the treatment initiation of women enrolled in 2014, taking as reference the time limit of 60 days established by the Brazilian Federal Law 12,372/2012 for treatment initiation at the Unified Health System (SUS). In the second stage, we analyzed the narratives of five women regarding their paths towards health services since the diagnosis up to the first therapeutic intervention, taking into account the aspects of comprehensive health care. It was observed that 88% of the treatments started after the 60-day legal period and that 65.5% of the women received a diagnosis in an advanced stage of the disease. The treatment initiation mean was 115.4 days. Main problems seized in path analysis concern the availability of services and the integration of actions throughout the different levels of health care, as well as the lack of information on the disease and the purpose of PAP smears.
KEYWORDS
Uterine cervical neoplasms; Early detection of cancer; Women’s health services; Health services accessibility
