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Many women in Africa are diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. We explored Malawian breast cancer patients’ perspectives about their diagnosis and ability to access care to identify help-seeking behaviors and to describe factors influencing delay.

We purposively sampled 20 Malawian breast cancer patients to conduct in-depth interviews. Transcripts were double coded to identify major themes of breast cancer help-seeking behaviors and what delayed or facilitated access to care.

We outlined a breast cancer help-seeking pathway describing decisions, behaviors, and interactions from symptom presentation to receipt of cancer care. Patients were largely unaware of breast cancer and did not immediately notice or interpret symptoms. As symptoms progressed, women inferred illness and sought help from social networks, traditional remedies, and medical care. Economic hardship …