Researchers at the University of Surrey and King’s College London surveyed 720 women from six different ethnic groups in England – white, Caribbean, African, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi.
They wanted to understand why certain women might delay seeking medical help, and asked participants how strongly they agreed with 11 statements designed to assess potential barriers.
Some 30 per cent of the women (except Bangladeshi) said they would pray about a symptom compared with 10 per cent of white women.
The research also found between 75 per cent and 91 per cent of ethnic minority women were too embarrassed to talk to their family doctor, compared with just 8 per cent of white women,
Being too scared of what the symptom could indicate and a poor understanding of what the GP is saying are also potential barriers to treatment, according to the Cancer Research UK-funded study.
African, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi women were also more likely to say they might use traditional remedies.
But it is not known whether they would do these instead of, or as well as, going to the doctor.
Dr Julie Sharp, Cancer Research UK’s head of health and patient information, said: “Making sure ethnic minority women are aware of things that can be done to make a doctor’s appointment easier, such as the use of translation services, will hopefully give them the confidence to speak openly to…
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