Time to diagnosis (TTD) and treatment initiation (TTI) are important measures of access to and quality of cancer care. This study addresses the knowledge gap on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TTD and TTI for rural cancer patients. Sixty-three cancer patients residing in rural areas of the state of Hawaii were surveyed in 2020 to 2021. Overall, 67.5% of participants reported TTD within one month of reporting symptoms to a health care provider. Mean TTI for the overall sample was 55.3 days, and among breast cancer patients, 57.9 days. Compared with pre-pandemic state registry data, mean TTI for the overall sample and breast cancer patients were significantly longer than the state registry null value of 40 days (P = .02 and P =.05, respectively). During the COVID-19 pandemic, cancer patients in rural Hawaii experienced substantial delays in TTI compared with pre-pandemic years.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; cancer care coordination; rural cancer care; treatment initiation.