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Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the second most common malignancy in cancer patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Very few studies investigated this population’s ED utilization. Methods: In this retrospective review, 619 ED visits by 176 BC patients in Southwestern Ontario were analyzed. We identified all BC patients who presented to the ED during a one year period, and then tracked all their ED visits from the date of BC diagnosis. The median follow-up time was 2.35 years. Results: The average age of patients presenting to the ED was 61 years. Approximately half the patients presented three or more times since the date of their BC diagnosis. A third of ED visits were preceded by a chemotherapy treatment within 30 days; a majority of those visits were within 8 days of treatment. Patients who presented while on chemotherapy were younger, and more likely to be admitted. A fifth …