Waiting Time between Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Brazilian Women: An Analysis of Cases from 1998 to 2012.

Brazilian law requires that treatment for breast cancer begin within 60 days of diagnosis. This waiting time is an indicator of accessibility to health services. The aim of this study was to analyze which factors are associated with waiting times between diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in women in Brazil between 1998 and 2012. Information from Brazilian women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2012 was collected through the Hospital Registry of Cancer (HRC), developed by the National Cancer Institute (INCA). We performed a secondary data analysis, and found that the majority of women (81.3%) waited for ≤60 days to start treatment after being diagnosed. Those referred by the public health system, aged ≥50 years, of nonwhite race, diagnosed at stage I or II, and with low levels of education waited longer for treatment to start. We observed that only 18.7% experienced a delay in starting treatment, which is a positive reflection of the quality of the care network for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. We also observed inequalities in access to health services related to age, region of residence, stage of the disease, race, and origin of referral to the health service.

Inflammatory breast neoplasms: a systematic review

OVERVIEW: Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a rare and very aggressive type of cancer that tends to develop at a younger age, compared with other subtypes of breast cancer. Because a distinct lump may not be noticeable, correct diagnosis takes longer and, therefore, successful treatment may hinder a patient's prognostics. This study aims to conduct a systematic review of research articles on IBC. METHODS: This is a systematic review of studies in the PubMed database to April 2013, which fit the eligibility criterion of "Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms" (MeSH Terms), filtered by Languages (English OR Portuguese OR Spanish). FINDINGS: Of the 119studies identified, 25 complied with the eligibility criterion for the disease, diagnostics, treatment and prognostics. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Despite methodological differences, findings evidence that although IBC presents particular features (lower survival rate and worse prognostics than most types of breast cancer), very few studies examine its epidemiology and specific risk factors in depth and use any other therapeutic approaches than those commonly used for other breast cancer subtypes. Therefore, further investigation of the disease's aggressiveness is still necessary.(AU)

Social representation of the hospital ludic: look of the child

INTRODUCTION: Play has become an object of study in various sectors of society, as it is viewed as an innate, spontaneous activity that is critical for a child's physical, social, emotional and cognitive development, which facilitates communication, socialisation and adaptation to environments and people. During hospitalisation, children feel vulnerable as they have to cope with strange carers, invasive and painful procedures. Barriers to their regular activities tend to make the situation worse. OBJECTIVES: To describe the child's view of his/her playfulness in the hospital environment and investigate the social representation of a hospital playroom for children exposed to the story-drawing technique. METHODS: This qualitative exploratory research used story-drawing as a tool for data collection with a sample of 12 children aged 6 to 11 years, while they were hospitalised. Data analysis was supported by a literature review and direct observation, which allowed the researchers to draw relationships between theory, the research hypotheses and the data collected. FINDINGS: The children's construction and representation of playfulness while in hospital was directly related to the playroom, since most of them reported not conceiving of the possibility to play in bed or elsewhere in the hospital. Soon the playroom was further viewed as a place for socialising and recovering from illness as they approximated this environment to their reality in an attempt to make it a closest-as-possible representation of their homes. It was observed that play changed the children's preconceived ideas of the hospital, as they began to view the playroom as an environment in which they felt able to play and consequently well. Their story-drawings contextualised symbolically their current hospitalisation situation and became a scaffolding tool for their emotional well-being...(AU)

INTRODUÇÃO: o brincar tem se tornado objeto de estudo nos diversos setores da sociedade, sendo considerado como uma atividade espontânea inata ao ser humano e necessário ao desenvolvimento infantil físico, social, emocional e cognitivo, facilita comunicação, ajuda na socialização e adaptação a ambientes e pessoas. Quando hospitalizadas, as criança se sentem vulneráveis, com pessoas desconhecidas, procedimentos invasivos e dolorosos, e a limitação das atividades exercidas por ela, tendem a tornar a situação pior. OBJETIVOS: descrever a percepção da criança, acerca do lúdico no ambiente hospitalar e verificar a representação social da brinquedoteca para as crianças internadas a partir da técnica de Desenho-Estória com tema. MÉTODO: tratou-se de um estudo qualitativo e exploratório que utilizou como instrumento de coleta de dados a técnica do Desenho - Estória com tema, tendo como sujeitos 12 crianças com idade entre 06 e 11 anos. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir da discussão com subsídios teóricos estudados, além da observação dos pesquisadores, que possibilitou encontrar respostas ao problema pesquisado, estabelecendo as relações necessárias entre os dados obtidos e as hipóteses formuladas...(AU)

Social representation of the hospital ludic: look of the child

INTRODUCTION: Play has become an object of study in various sectors of society, as it is viewed as an innate, spontaneous activity that is critical for a child's physical, social, emotional and cognitive development, which facilitates communication, socialisation and adaptation to environments and people. During hospitalisation, children feel vulnerable as they have to cope with strange carers, invasive and painful procedures. Barriers to their regular activities tend to make the situation worse. OBJECTIVES: To describe the child's view of his/her playfulness in the hospital environment and investigate the social representation of a hospital playroom for children exposed to the story-drawing technique. METHODS: This qualitative exploratory research used story-drawing as a tool for data collection with a sample of 12 children aged 6 to 11 years, while they were hospitalised. Data analysis was supported by a literature review and direct observation, which allowed the researchers to draw relationships between theory, the research hypotheses and the data collected. FINDINGS: The children's construction and representation of playfulness while in hospital was directly related to the playroom, since most of them reported not conceiving of the possibility to play in bed or elsewhere in the hospital. Soon the playroom was further viewed as a place for socialising and recovering from illness as they approximated this environment to their reality in an attempt to make it a closest-as-possible representation of their homes. It was observed that play changed the children's preconceived ideas of the hospital, as they began to view the playroom as an environment in which they felt able to play and consequently well. Their story-drawings contextualised symbolically their current hospitalisation situation and became a scaffolding tool for their emotional well-being...

INTRODUÇÃO: o brincar tem se tornado objeto de estudo nos diversos setores da sociedade, sendo considerado como uma atividade espontânea inata ao ser humano e necessário ao desenvolvimento infantil físico, social, emocional e cognitivo, facilita comunicação, ajuda na socialização e adaptação a ambientes e pessoas. Quando hospitalizadas, as criança se sentem vulneráveis, com pessoas desconhecidas, procedimentos invasivos e dolorosos, e a limitação das atividades exercidas por ela, tendem a tornar a situação pior. OBJETIVOS: descrever a percepção da criança, acerca do lúdico no ambiente hospitalar e verificar a representação social da brinquedoteca para as crianças internadas a partir da técnica de Desenho-Estória com tema. MÉTODO: tratou-se de um estudo qualitativo e exploratório que utilizou como instrumento de coleta de dados a técnica do Desenho - Estória com tema, tendo como sujeitos 12 crianças com idade entre 06 e 11 anos. A análise dos dados foi realizada a partir da discussão com subsídios teóricos estudados, além da observação dos pesquisadores, que possibilitou encontrar respostas ao problema pesquisado, estabelecendo as relações necessárias entre os dados obtidos e as hipóteses formuladas...

Inflammatory breast neoplasms: a systematic review

OVERVIEW: Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) is a rare and very aggressive type of cancer that tends to develop at a younger age, compared with other subtypes of breast cancer. Because a distinct lump may not be noticeable, correct diagnosis takes longer and, therefore, successful treatment may hinder a patient's prognostics. This study aims to conduct a systematic review of research articles on IBC. METHODS: This is a systematic review of studies in the PubMed database to April 2013, which fit the eligibility criterion of "Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms" (MeSH Terms), filtered by Languages (English OR Portuguese OR Spanish). FINDINGS: Of the 119studies identified, 25 complied with the eligibility criterion for the disease, diagnostics, treatment and prognostics. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: Despite methodological differences, findings evidence that although IBC presents particular features (lower survival rate and worse prognostics than most types of breast cancer), very few studies examine its epidemiology and specific risk factors in depth and use any other therapeutic approaches than those commonly used for other breast cancer subtypes. Therefore, further investigation of the disease's aggressiveness is still necessary.