Up to four-month wait for Breast Cancer treatment in the Canary Islands
Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death among women, and although the early detection system in the Canary Islands functions effectively, many patients face delays of up to four months between the first suspicion of illness and the start of treatment, according to hospital data and patient associations.
The 2024 Quality Management Report from the Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín, along with information from the ÁMATE Breast Cancer Association of Tenerife, highlights significant delays across the patient care process — from diagnosis to surgery and post-operative treatments.
From suspicion to treatment
On average, breast cancer patients in the Canary Islands wait between six weeks and nearly four months to begin treatment after the first sign of illness. Surgical cases take an average of 85 days to reach the operating theatre, while subsequent radiotherapy or chemotherapy may not begin until around 120 days later.
Patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (before surgery) face the shortest waits, starting treatment roughly 45 days after first hospital contact.
Broken down further:
- 24 days from first consultation to confirmed diagnosis
- 63 days from diagnosis to surgery
- 19.5 days on average from diagnosis to the start of chemotherapy (including time for oncology consultations)
“Everything slows down”
According to Mari Carmen Bonfante, president of ÁMATE, the situation is similar in Tenerife, where patients often wait up to three months between diagnosis and surgery.
“The screening system works very well, but everything slows down after that,” she said. “I was diagnosed on 29th February and operated on 27th April. It’s terrifying to wait and wonder every night if it’s growing.”
She attributes the delays to overloaded hospitals, insufficient operating theatres, and a shortage of medical staff, aggravated by population growth.
Long waiting lists for mammograms
Mammograms are among the diagnostic tests with the longest waiting lists in the Canary Islands. As of June 2025, some 761 people were waiting for a mammogram, with an average delay of nearly two months (58.6 days).
By hospital, the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Hospital has the most patients on the list (278), followed by the University Hospital of the Canaries (HUC) with 222, and the Doctor Negrín Hospital with 147. The HUC also reports the longest average delay, nearly 116 days.
Early detection programme
The Canary Islands Health Department reports that its Breast Cancer Early Detection Programme covers 100% of women aged 50–69, with 70% participation. In 2024, 109,936 mammograms were carried out, resulting in 596 confirmed cancer diagnoses.
Reports are usually issued within a week of screening, and if a tumour is suspected, patients are contacted within 24–48 hours.
Calls to expand screening ages
Both ÁMATE and the Canary Islands Breast Cancer Association, led by Marisa Herrera, are urging authorities to expand the screening age range, starting from 35 or 40 years and removing the upper limit of 69.
“Thirty percent of diagnoses occur in women under 40,” Bonfante noted, while Herrera added that “many older women remain active and should continue to be included in screening.”
Despite the delays, experts agree that early detection remains the key to survival, reducing mortality by up to 30% when breast cancer is identified in its earliest stages.
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