Breast cancer remains a significant health challenge, and timely access to care is crucial for improving patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to analyze the implications of care opportunity on survival and experiences of women with breast cancer treated at a hospital center in the Department of Huila, during the period 2014 - 2022. This study was framed within a multimethod design that employed a strategy of findings complementation. To achieve this, a retrospective closed cohort analysis was conducted based on the medical records of 425 women diagnosed with breast cancer, and 12 interviews were carried out with women in the follow-up stage of breast cancer. Descriptive statistics and multivariate models (Cox Regression and Multiple Linear Regression) adjusted for confounding variables were used for quantitative data analysis. Content analysis was employed to identify prominent categories during the disease trajectory in qualitative data. The results revealed an inverse relationship between care opportunity and survival. In this cohort, the median waiting time for breast cancer care was 86 days, with a survival rate of 83%. Furthermore, it was found that for patients diagnosed at stages I and II, the risk of death reduced by 84% (HR=0.165, 95% CI=0.92 - 0.295). The study also unveiled that delayed care led to uncertainty among patients, fearing disease progression during the delay. The findings underscore the importance of early diagnosis and reducing waiting times to enhance both the likelihood of survival and the patient experience during the disease trajectory.
