Advances in Sexual & Reproductive Health Research(ASRHR)

Independent Scholar, Auckland, New Zealand

Publications

• Review Article   
  Delayed Diagnosis in Ovarian Cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand: Clinical Realities, System Pressures, and the Lived Experience of Emergency Presentation
  Author(s): Bruce H Knox*
  
  Ovarian cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies affecting women, primarily due to delayed diagnosis and advanced-stage presentation. In Aotearoa New Zealand, approximately 46.9% of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed within 30 days of an emergency admission, reflecting a significant failure of early detection pathways. This paper integrates clinical understanding, epidemiological data, and lived-experience narratives to explore the multifactorial reasons underpinning delayed diagnosis. These include the biological characteristics of ovarian cancer, non-specific symptomatology, diagnostic limitations in primary care, inequities in healthcare access, and systemic delays. The psychological and physiological consequences of late diagnosis are examined, alongside the disproportionate burden experienced by Māori and Pacific peoples. The paper argues that the high rate of emergenc.. Read More»
  

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