Background: Despite the higher mortality rate of breast cancer in low and middle-income countries, the practice of early detection methods is low and the majority of the patients presenting at an advanced stage of the disease need palliative care with low survival rates. Although healthcare providers are the key for practicing early detection methods of breast cancer for themselves and their clients, little is known about their knowledge and practice of early detection methods of breast cancer in Northcentral Ethiopia.Methods: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among female healthcare providers at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialised Hospital. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-demographic information of participants. Binary and multivariable logistic regression with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. Statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05. Result:The mean (±SD) age of the participants was 31.4 (±7.8) years. About 106 (79.7%) participants had good knowledge about breast cancer early detection methods and only 56 (42.1%) of them practiced breast self-examination regularly. Work experience of >2 years (

Background Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in over 100 countries. In March 2021, the World Health Organization called on the global community to decrease mortality by 2.5% per year. Despite the high burden of the disease, the survival status and the predictors for mortality are not yet fully determined in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia. Here, we report the survival status and predictors of mortality among breast cancer patients in South Ethiopia as crucial baseline data to be used for the design and monitoring of interventions to improve early detection, diagnosis, and treatment capacity. Methods A hospital-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 302 female breast cancer patients diagnosed from 2013 to 2018 by reviewing their medical records and telephone interviews. The median survival time was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis method. A log-rank test was used to compare the observed differences in survival time among different groups. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to identify predictors of mortality. Results are presented using the crude and adjusted as hazard ratios along with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Sensitivity analysis was performed with the assumption that loss to follow-up patients might die 3 months after the last hospital visit. Results The study participants were followed for a total of 4,685.62 person-months. The median survival time was 50.81 months, which declined to 30.57 months in the worst-case analysis. About 83.4% of patients had advanced-stage disease at presentation. The overall survival probability of patients at two and three years was 73.2% and 63.0% respectively. Independent predictors of mortality were: patients residing in rural areas (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.71, 95% CI: 1.44, 5.09), travel time to a health facility ≥7 hours (adjusted hazard ratio = 3.42, 95% CI: 1.05, 11.10), those who presented within 7–23 months after the onset of symptoms (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.22, 5.64), those who presented more than 23 months after the onset of symptoms (adjusted hazard ratio = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.00, 5.59), advanced stage at presentation (adjusted hazard ratio = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.05, 8.59), and patients who never received chemotherapy (adjusted hazard ratio = 6.69, 95% CI: 2.20, 20.30). Conclusion Beyond three years after diagnosis, patients from southern Ethiopia had a survival rate of less than 60% despite treatment at a tertiary health facility. It is imperative to improve the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment capacities for breast cancer patients to prevent premature death in these women.

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in over 100 countries. Despite the high burden of the problem, the survival status and the predictors for mortality are not yet determined well in Ethiopia. Therefore, we aimed to determine the survival and predictors of mortality among breast cancer patients diagnosed from 2013-2018 at Hawassa comprehensive specialized and teaching hospital and private oncology clinic in Southern Ethiopia.Methods: Hospital-based retrospective cohort study of 302 patients was conducted. Data was collected on breast cancer patients diagnosed from January, 1st, 2013 to December, 30th, 2018 using a data extraction checklist and by telephone interview. The median survival was estimated by Kaplan- Meier. Log Rank test was used to compare survival among groups. Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify predictors. Results were repaired as hazard ratio (HR) along with the corresponding 95% CI. Sensitivity analysis was done with the assumption of loss to follow-ups (LTF) might die 3 months after the last hospital visit. Results: Advanced stage diagnosis of breast cancer was found on 83.4 % of patients with breast cancer. The study participants were followed for a total of 4685.62 person-months. Their median survival was 50.61 months (IQR=18.38-50.80) which declined to 30.57 months in the worst-case analysis (WCA). The overall survival of patients at two years was 73.2% and it declines to 51.3 % in the worst-case analysis. Rural residence (AHR=2.71, 95% CI: 1.44, 5.09), travel time >7 hours (AHR=3.42, 95% CI: 1.05, 11.10), duration of symptom 7-23 months (AHR=2.63, 95% CI: 1.22, 5.64), > 23 months (AHR=2.37, 95% CI: 1.00, 5.59), advanced stage (AHR=3.01, 95% CI: 1.05, 8.59) and not taking chemotherapy (AHR=6.69, 95% CI: 2.20, 20.30) were independent predictors of death. Conclusion: Above two-third of the patients have two years of overall survival in south Ethiopia. Rural residence, advanced stage, and poor adherence to chemotherapy were independent predictors of death. Thus, Improving early detection, diagnosis, and treatment capacity of breast cancer patients are an important way-outs to avert the problem with appropriate intervention means.