Factors Influencing the Health-Seeking Behaviors of Women with Advanced Stages of Breast Cancer in Northern Nigeria: A Sociological Study

Breast cancer mortality in sub-Saharan Africa is alarmingly high, driven largely by late-stage presentation that is deeply rooted in complex sociocultural dynamics rather than biological factors alone. This study analyzed the sociological factors influencing the delayed health-seeking behaviors of women presenting with advanced breast cancer in Northern Nigeria. Understanding these sociological underpinnings is critical for designing culturally resonant interventions to address the region’s specific crisis of late diagnosis and high mortality. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving women diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer at selected tertiary health institutions. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire incorporating the Champion Health Belief Model Scale and Powe Cancer Fatalism Scale to assess cultural beliefs, patriarchal influence, and fatalistic attitudes. The results revealed an overwhelming prevalence of advanced disease among younger, premenopausal women. Significant sociological barriers included the attribution of cancer to mystical forces or the bush, a pervasive fear that surgery accelerates death, and the requirement for spousal permission to access care. Furthermore, religious fatalism and the fear of mastectomy-induced marital abandonment were identified as potent deterrents to early orthodox treatment. The study concludes that late presentation is a socially constructed phenomenon driven by a permission paradox and fatalistic worldviews that prioritize traditional healing over biomedical intervention. These findings imply that public health strategies must move beyond general awareness to target specific cultural myths and engage male heads of households and religious leaders to dismantle the structural barriers delaying life-saving care.