Research in USA and the UK has revealed that whilst the incidence of breast cancer is lower in women from black and ethnic minority groups, African and African-American women delay seeking help, have a worse prognosis, and a higher mortality rate. A variety of reasons has been suggested for this: from system delay, to delay by the women arising from educational and socio-economic disadvantage or religious beliefs. Building on this in the UK, from a study conducted in a South London Screening Clinic, a sub-sample of African and African-Caribbean women were interviewed to obtain their narratives of action in delay in seeking help for late-stage breast cancer. The findings suggest that the women were aware of the services offered, were expecting a diagnosis of cancer, but offered a model of fearing extrusion from their community rather than fear of death from the disease, leading to delay in seeking help. The reasons for this are explored and a risk trajectory in biomedicine compared with the African and African-Caribbean women's world is described.