Background: In North America and Europe return to work (RTW) rates vary among breast cancer(BC) survivors from 24-66% and 53-82% after 06 and 36 months of diagnosis, respectively. In 2017an observational study evaluated return to work among Brazilian patients treated in one publichospital in São Paulo, and described RTW rates of 30.3 and 60.4%, after 12 and 24 months of BCdiagnosis, respectively. The aim of the present study was to evaluate RTW rates among a broaderpopulation of Brazilian patients with BC, including patients treated in private hospitals, and todescribe factors associated with this outcome.Patients and Methods: Patients with BC registered on the portal of the NGO Instituto Oncoguia, oneof the largest Brazilian cancer patient support organization, and patients treated in one of the cancercenters from the Oncoclínicas group in Bahia, Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo. Patients received anemail invitation to participate in this study by answering an online survey. Inclusion criteria:Women with BC, diagnosed with stage I-IV within 12 to 36 months from survey date, age 18-65,with paid work before BC, who answered question related to returning to work after the diagnosis.The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Hospital Santo Antônio/Obras Sociais Irmã Dulce, inSalvador- Bahia, approved the study.Results: 124 women fulfilled all inclusion criteria and agreed to participate on this online survey.Most patients were white (71.8%), had college degree or higher education (74.2%) and were fromthe southeast region in Brazil (67.7%). Overall, 70.2% of patients returned to work after BCdiagnosis; 21.8% stayed away from work for < 6 months, 26.6% for 6-12 months, 22.6% for 12-24months, 19.3% for more than 24 months and 9.7% did not answer this question. Most participantswere treated in private hospitals/clinics (82%), reported they liked their job (64.5%) and receivedsupport from employer (56.4%), but only 33.1% indicated had been offered work adjustments aftercancer diagnosis. From the 29.8% that did not RTW, 78.4% declared they wished to return. Only19.3% said that they had no difficulties in returning to work. Most common difficulties to RTWwere difficulty concentrating (34.7%) and adjusting to working hours (19.3%). In the multivariateanalysis, factors associated with positive RTW outcomes included being treated in a private versuspublic hospital (OR: 13.74, CI95% 1.76-106.96; p = 0.012) and job satisfaction (OR: 4,69,CI95% 1.10-19.98; p = 0.036). Factors associated with negative RTW outcomes included > 24. months away from work (OR: 0.02, IC95% 0.01-0.32; p = 0.004) and depression diagnosed afterBC (OR: 0.13, IC95% 0.01-0.91; p = 0.04). A limitation of this study is the use of a conveniencesample, thus, the associations found are limited to the participating women .Conclusion: Differences in RTW rates in private versus public hospitals may explain the betterRTW rate found in this cohort, in contrast with previous study conducted with Brazilian patientstreated in a public hospital in São Paulo. Ultimately, identifying patients who will likely experiencedifficulties to RTW (patients who developed depression after BC and those not satisfied with theirjobs) can hopefully trigger patient support strategies. Organizations and government should betterassist patients in the rehabilitation work process and with possible career transitions. Citation Format: Luciana Landeiro, Luciana Holtzde Camargo Barros, Lycia TramujasVasconcellos Neumann, André Marques Santos, Anna Carolina Arena Siqueira, Rafael Kaliks. Return to work after breast cancer: Disparities among patients treated in public and private hospitals in Brazil [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-11-17.
Introduction Oncoguia, founded in 2009, is a cancer patient advocacy organization in Brazil that provides information and assistance to patients and families through programs, such as the National Support Program for Patients with Cancer, Canal Ligue Câncer. Launched in 2012, Canal Ligue Câncer is a toll-free hotline that offers support and personalized guidance about early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, navigating the healthcare system, and patients’ rights. The objective of this research was to conduct an analysis of the Canal Ligue Câncer database to better understand the needs of callers seeking information about breast cancer. Methods In this cross-sectional study, we retrospectively analyzed descriptive data from the Canal Ligue Câncer database (2013-2019). This data was collected by trained attendants who used a conversational, semi-structured script to assist callers, details of which are recorded in the database. Results A total of 11,137 calls were registered in the Canal Ligue Câncer database from 2013-2019. Callers requested information related to breast cancer (34%) more than any other cancer. This analysis considered 3,695 of these records; 3,072 (83%) came from cancer patients and 623 (17%) from family members, representing all 27 states of Brazil, predominantly from São Paulo (50%). At the time of the call, more than half (57%) of patients were actively in treatment, of which 41% were receiving chemotherapy, 23% hormone therapy, 9% had surgery, and 8% radiotherapy. These patients accessed their healthcare services through private health plans (48%) or the Brazilian public health system (46%). More than 1 in every 4 (29%) records described an advanced breast cancer diagnosis; 27% of which had advanced cancer at first diagnosis. Many (25%) indicated that breast cancer treatment affected the daily life of the patient. The most commonly impacted areas were related to emotional health (36%), work (22%), finances (16%), self-esteem (10%), and family (5%). The main motives for contact were to seek assistance in the realization of patients’ rights (57%), learn more about Oncoguia (16%), ask questions or report access barriers to diagnostic, treatment, and care services throughout each stage of the patient journey (15%), and request information about quality of life support (8%). Conclusion Oncoguia is a leading cancer patient advocacy organization in Brazil. Canal Ligue Câncer assists callers throughout the country who are seeking information about cancer through empathetic, active listening and offers easy-to-understand information and guidance to help callers overcome challenges. The aggregated data of the Canal Ligue Câncer database highlights trends and provides an important snapshot of common questions and challenges of the larger cancer community, which inform Oncoguia’s health education campaigns and advocacy initiatives. Our analysis demonstrated not only do breast cancer patients need information and assistance to navigate the healthcare and legal systems and to manage the impact of cancer in their lives, but support is also requested by family members. There is also a particularly high demand for information related to patients’ rights, which in Brazil often relates to the Law of 60 Days that guarantees patients begin treatment through the Brazilian public health system no more than 60 days after diagnosis. Further analyses will consider longitudinal trends and changes in the characteristics of callers, their questions, and challenges. Citation Format: Luciana Holtz de Camargo Barros, Anna Carolina Arena Siqueira, Meredith Kruse, André Marques dos Santos, Lycia TramujasVasconcellos Neumann. How can we help: The needs of those seeking breast cancer information and support from a cancer patient advocacy organization in Brazil [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-15-04.
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