Breast cancer care in older women

Abstract

BACKGROUND The authors studied older women with breast cancer and asked: 1) where do older women get information regarding breast cancer care and how helpful do they perceive each of these sources to be? and 2) what aspects of social support are associated with older women's general and breast cancer specific emotional health outcomes? METHODS To be eligible, women had to be at least 55 years of age and newly diagnosed with TNM Stage I or II breast cancer. Data were collected from women's surgical records and a 35‐minute, computer‐assisted telephone interview. RESULTS Nearly all women rated information that was provided by their breast cancer physicians as very or somewhat helpful. Written materials provided by breast cancer physicians also were frequently rated as very or somewhat helpful. Women's marital status, religious service attendance, ratings of their physicians' technical and interpersonal care, and perceptions of their own abilities to communicate with their physicians were significantly associated with both general and breast cancer specific emotional health outcomes (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Although older women obtained information regarding breast cancer from a variety of sources, they relied heavily on their physicians for information. To care most effectively for this group of patients, an increased understanding of the relation between the processes and outcomes of breast cancer care is needed Identifying older women with breast cancer at risk for poor emotional health outcomes and developing methods to enhance physician‐patient communication in this setting may improve these outcomes. Cancer 1998;83:706‐711. © 1998 American Cancer Society.

Challenging the perceptions of cancer service provision for the disadvantaged: evaluating utilisation of cancer support services in Western Australia

“…Firstly, it is speculated that elderly cancer patients often prefer to obtain their information directly from their clinician [18,19] and would therefore tend to seek out secondary sources of information, such as self-help groups, less often. They may also be less willing and accustomed to exploring information pertaining to cancer treatments and management thereof which may be outside the regimen suggested by the physician [19,20]. In addition, some of the supportive services offered may not be perceived by elderly cancer patients as relevant for them such as body image issues and embarking on a physical activity and fitness program.…”

Ethnicity and persistent symptom burden in breast cancer survivors

“…One explanation for this difference is that the elderly have a greater likelihood of experiencing comorbid medical conditions, which are associated with poor health and diminished quality of life in cancer survivors [50]. Studies have also found that elderly breast cancer survivors are more likely than younger women to report less participatory decision making, fewer supportive interactions, less time spent with physicians as well as lower levels of perceived social support and diminishing size of support networks [51, 52]. These factors also influence symptom experience and management.…”

Breast cancer treatment decision making among Latinas and non-Latina whites: A communication model predicting decisional outcomes and quality of life.

“…Internal consistency coefficients were ≥ .83 for Latinas and Whites. Breast cancer-specific emotional health was assessed with four items, including worrying about the breast cancer recurring or worrying about the family's ability to manage if the participant gets sicker (Silliman, Dukes, Sullivan, & Kaplan, 1998). The scale demonstrates convergent validity with important quality of life outcomes (Maly et al, 2008).…”