Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) taken for a minimum of five years reduces the recurrence and mortality risks among women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer. However, adherence to AET is suboptimal. To guide the development of theory-based interventions to enhance AET adherence, we conducted a study to explore beliefs regarding early adherence to AET. This qualitative study was guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). We conducted focus groups and individual interviews among women prescribed AET in the last two years (n = 43). The topic guide explored attitudinal (perceived advantages and disadvantages), normative (perception of approval or disapproval), and control beliefs (barriers and facilitating factors) towards adhering to AET. Thematic analysis was conducted. Most women had a positive attitude towards AET regardless of their medication-taking behavior. The principal perceived advantage was protection against a recurrence while the principal inconvenience was side effects. Almost everyone approved of the woman taking her medication. The women mentioned facilitating factors to encourage medication-taking behaviors and cope with side effects. For adherent women, having trouble establishing a routine was their main barrier to taking medication. For non-adherent women, it was side effects affecting their quality of life. These findings could inform the development of community pharmacy-based adherence interventions.

Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the wage losses incurred by spouses of women with nonmetastatic breast cancer in the 6 months after the diagnosis. Methods A prospective cohort study of spouses of women diagnosed with nonmetastatic breast cancer who were recruited in 8 hospitals in the province of Quebec (Canada) was performed. Information for estimating wage losses was collected by telephone interviews conducted 1 and 6 months after the diagnosis. Log‐binomial regressions were used to identify personal, medical, and employment characteristics associated with experiencing wage losses, and generalized linear models were used to identify characteristics associated with the proportion of usual wages lost. Results Overall, 829 women (86% participation) and 406 spouses (75% participation) consented to participate. Among the 279 employed spouses, 78.5% experienced work absences because of breast cancer. Spouses were compensated for 66.3% of their salary on average during their absence. The median wage loss was $0 (mean, $1820) (2003 Canadian dollars). Spouses were more likely to experience losses if they were self‐employed or lived 50 km or farther from the hospital. Among spouses who experienced wage losses, those who were self‐employed or whose partners had invasive breast cancer lost a higher proportion of wages. Conclusions Although spouses took some time off work, for many, the resulting wage losses were modest because of compensation received. Still, the types of compensation used may hide other forms of burden for families facing breast cancer.