Table 3 General challenges within breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancer care pathways
Challenges within the care pathway of | Frequency for each tumour type | Total frequency across the 4 tumour types | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Breast cancer | Lung cancer | Colorectal cancer | Prostate cancer | Across the 4 tumour types | |
Healthcare system related challenges | |||||
 (1) Long waiting lists/times for diagnosis and treatment | 22 | 27 | 25 | 9 | 83 |
 (2) Lack of different imaging modalities/ tests | 7 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 32 |
 (3) Understaffing | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 29 |
 (4) Lack of other resources | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 24 |
 (5) Poor communication between different HCPs in the pathway | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
 (6) Economic problems (financial cuts, lack of funding) | 6 | 5 | 5 |  | 16 |
 (7) Lack of multidisciplinary team (MDT) consensus | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
 (8) Issues with accessibility: shortage of healthcare facilities/ departments specialised for breast cancer | 3 |  |  |  | 3 |
 (9) Poor organisation of the healthcare system | 2 |  |  |  | 2 |
Healthcare professionals related challenges | |||||
 (10) Insufficient expertise | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 24 |
Clinical practice related challenges | |||||
 (11) Problems with the accuracy of imaging modalities |  | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
 (12) Absence of national screening programme |  | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Patient related challenges | |||||
 (13) Poor patient compliance to medical examination | 3 |  |  |  | 3 |
 (14) Financial problems/costs | 2 |  |  |  | 2 |