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One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in women, 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 62,290 new cases of carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed in the United States in the year 2015 [1]. That means approximately 5,656 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week. Most health care professionals will have some interaction with breast cancer patients during their professional lives.It's no exaggeration to say that there has been an explosion in our knowledge regarding the biology of breast cancer over the past decade or so, and this has led to major improvements in how we treat breast cancer patients.There have been advances in all of the major treatment disciplines used in breast cancer management including surgery, radiation therapy and medical oncology. Modern breast cancer treatment is not only much more effective than previously, but it is also much less likely to cause major side-effects and is better tolerated by the patient [2].These facts, combined with better diagnostic methods and the proven value of screening mammography leading to earlier diagnosis and lowered death rates, allow us to be much more optimistic and reassuring for women newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.It's not all good news, however. The unfortunate fact is that many women are still being denied the benefits of modern breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this article we will discuss the reasons for this, and also suggest ways nurses can help improve the situation and best serve women facing breast cancer.Our breast cancer accredited center of excellence is located within a cancer hospital in northern Illinois. We work as part of a multidisciplinary team, which includes surgical oncologists, radiation and medical oncologists, pathologists, diagnostic radiologists, nurse practitioners, nurse navigators, surgical nurses, naturopathic physicians, nutritionists, mind body specialists and oncology rehabilitation specialists. Each year our team sees hundreds of new patients with breast cancer.Why do we claim that many women do not benefit as much as they should from modern breast cancer diagnosis and treatment? There are two major reasons: first, despite all of the major publicity regarding the importance of early diagnosis, many women still delay reporting a breast lump to their doctors [3]. Second a significant number of women with breast cancer do not complete the treatment course recommended by their doctors [4]. Patient delayOur team recently reviewed the medical records of patients with breast cancer seen during a twelve month period. During this year, 591 women with different stages and types of breast cancer were examined.In 95 of these 591 women (16%), their initial diagnosis was delayed at least six months.What's worse, the average delay between when the patient first felt a lump or abnormality to when she was correctly diagnosed was twelve months. Fourteen patients waited two...
One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. According to the American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in women, 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 62,290 new cases of carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed in the United States in the year 2015 [1]. That means approximately 5,656 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week. Most health care professionals will have some interaction with breast cancer patients during their professional lives.It's no exaggeration to say that there has been an explosion in our knowledge regarding the biology of breast cancer over the past decade or so, and this has led to major improvements in how we treat breast cancer patients.There have been advances in all of the major treatment disciplines used in breast cancer management including surgery, radiation therapy and medical oncology. Modern breast cancer treatment is not only much more effective than previously, but it is also much less likely to cause major side-effects and is better tolerated by the patient [2].These facts, combined with better diagnostic methods and the proven value of screening mammography leading to earlier diagnosis and lowered death rates, allow us to be much more optimistic and reassuring for women newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer.It's not all good news, however. The unfortunate fact is that many women are still being denied the benefits of modern breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this article we will discuss the reasons for this, and also suggest ways nurses can help improve the situation and best serve women facing breast cancer.Our breast cancer accredited center of excellence is located within a cancer hospital in northern Illinois. We work as part of a multidisciplinary team, which includes surgical oncologists, radiation and medical oncologists, pathologists, diagnostic radiologists, nurse practitioners, nurse navigators, surgical nurses, naturopathic physicians, nutritionists, mind body specialists and oncology rehabilitation specialists. Each year our team sees hundreds of new patients with breast cancer.Why do we claim that many women do not benefit as much as they should from modern breast cancer diagnosis and treatment? There are two major reasons: first, despite all of the major publicity regarding the importance of early diagnosis, many women still delay reporting a breast lump to their doctors [3]. Second a significant number of women with breast cancer do not complete the treatment course recommended by their doctors [4]. Patient delayOur team recently reviewed the medical records of patients with breast cancer seen during a twelve month period. During this year, 591 women with different stages and types of breast cancer were examined.In 95 of these 591 women (16%), their initial diagnosis was delayed at least six months.What's worse, the average delay between when the patient first felt a lump or abnormality to when she was correctly diagnosed was twelve months. Fourteen patients waited two...
ImportanceDeclining treatment negatively affects health outcomes among patients with cancer. Limited research has investigated national trends of and factors associated with treatment declination or its association with overall survival (OS) among patients with breast cancer.ObjectivesTo examine trends and racial and ethnic disparities in treatment declination and racial and ethnic OS differences stratified by treatment decision in US patients with breast cancer.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis retrospective cross-sectional study used data for patients with breast cancer from the 2004 to 2020 National Cancer Database. Four treatment modalities were assessed: chemotherapy, hormone therapy (HT), radiotherapy, and surgery. The chemotherapy cohort included patients with stage I to IV disease. The HT cohort included patients with stage I to IV hormone receptor–positive disease. The radiotherapy and surgery cohorts included patients with stage I to III disease. Data were analyzed from March to November 2023.ExposureRace and ethnicity and other sociodemographic and clinicopathologic characteristics.Main Outcomes and MeasuresTreatment decision, categorized as received or declined, was modeled using logistic regression. OS was modeled using Cox regression. Models were controlled for year of initial diagnosis, age, sex, health insurance, median household income, facility type, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score, histology, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, molecular subtype, and tumor grade.ResultsThe study included 2 837 446 patients (mean [SD] age, 61.6 [13.4] years; 99.1% female), with 1.7% American Indian, Alaska Native, or other patients; 3.5% Asian or Pacific Islander patients; 11.2% Black patients; 5.6% Hispanic patients; and 78.0% White patients. Of 1 296 488 patients who were offered chemotherapy, 124 721 (9.6%) declined; 99 276 of 1 635 916 patients (6.1%) declined radiotherapy; 94 363 of 1 893 339 patients (5.0%) declined HT; and 15 846 of 2 590 963 patients (0.6%) declined surgery. Compared with White patients, American Indian, Alaska Native, or other patients (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.47; 95% CI, 1.26-1.72), Asian or Pacific Islander patients (AOR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.15-1.44), and Black patients (AOR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.89-2.14) were more likely to decline surgery; American Indian, Alaska Native, or other patients (AOR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.05-1.21) and Asian or Pacific Islander patients (AOR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.16-1.27) were more likely to decline chemotherapy; and Black patients were more likely to decline radiotherapy (AOR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08). Asian or Pacific Islander patients (AOR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.77-0.85), Black patients (AOR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.83-0.89), and Hispanic patients (AOR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.63-0.69) were less likely to decline HT. Furthermore, Black patients who declined chemotherapy had a higher mortality risk than White patients (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.13), while there were no OS differences between Black and White patients who declined HT (AHR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.97-1.13) or radiotherapy (AHR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.92-1.04).Conclusions and RelevanceThis cross-sectional study highlights racial and ethnic disparities in treatment declination and OS, suggesting the need for equity-focused interventions, such as patient education on treatment benefits and improved patient-clinician communication and shared decision-making, to reduce disparities and improve patient survival.
IMPORTANCE Not all women initiate clinically indicated breast cancer adjuvant treatment. It is important for clinicians to identify women at risk for noninitiation. OBJECTIVE To determine whether complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use is associated with decreased breast cancer chemotherapy initiation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this multisite prospective cohort study (the Breast Cancer Quality of Care [BQUAL] study) designed to examine predictors of breast cancer treatment initiation and adherence, 685 women younger than 70 years with nonmetastatic invasive breast cancer were recruited from Columbia University Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and Henry Ford Health System and enrolled between May 2006 and July 31, 2010. Overall, 306 patients (45%) were clinically indicated to receive chemotherapy per National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Participants were followed for up to 12 months. EXPOSURES Baseline interviews assessed current use of 5 CAM modalities (vitamins and/or minerals, herbs and/or botanicals, other natural products, mind-body self-practice, mind-body practitioner-based practice). CAM use definitions included any use, dietary supplement use, mind-body use, and a CAM index summing the 5 modalities. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Chemotherapy initiation was assessed via self-report up to 12 months after baseline. Multivariable logistic regression models examined a priori hypotheses testing whether CAM use was associated with chemotherapy initiation, adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates, and delineating groups by age and chemotherapy indication. RESULTS A cohort of 685 women younger than 70 years (mean age, 59 years; median age, 59 years) with nonmetastatic invasive breast cancer were recruited and followed for up to 12 months to examine predictors of breast cancer treatment initiation. Baseline CAM use was reported by 598 women (87%). Chemotherapy was initiated by 272 women (89%) for whom chemotherapy was indicated, compared with 135 women (36%) for whom chemotherapy was discretionary. Among women for whom chemotherapy was indicated, dietary supplement users and women with high CAM index scores were less likely than nonusers to initiate chemotherapy (odds ratio [OR], 0.16; 95% CI, 0.03–0.51; and OR per unit, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.46–0.87, respectively). Use of mind-body practices was not related to chemotherapy initiation (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 0.57–3.59). There was no association between CAM use and chemotherapy initiation among women for whom chemotherapy was discretionary. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE CAM use was high among patients with early-stage breast cancer enrolled in a multisite prospective cohort study. Current dietary supplement use and higher number of CAM modalities used but not mind-body practices were associated with decreased initiation of clinically indicated chemotherapy. Oncologists should consider discussing CAM with their patients during the chemotherapy decision-making process.
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