What Do Older Patients with Early Breast Cancer Want to Know While Undergoing Adjuvant Radiotherapy?

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the information needs and unique illness experiences of older women with early stage breast cancer. Breast cancer patients have expressed a high need for information to help them cope with their disease and treatment decision making. Satisfying information needs can also improve patient outcomes including perceptions of control, levels of distress, and psychological well-being. Focus groups and one patient interview were conducted investigating the informational needs of patients 70 years or older who were diagnosed with stage I breast cancer. Women identified their experiences and information needs related to diagnosis, participation in treatment decision making, treatment onset, and unexpected life changes. They provided several suggestions to healthcare professionals related to breast cancer treatment. The study's findings increase our understanding of older breast cancer patients' needs and provide a foundation for the development of a decision aid to help patients better understand their treatment options.

Older Women Breast Cancer Survivors: Decision Making, Sources of Information and Wellness Activities in Malaysia

“…Consistently, the findings from this study show that older women with breast cancer in Malaysia do seek information on breast cancer (Wong et al, 2011). The most preferred sources of information are medical professionals (Tomaka, 2006) and individuals such as family and friends (Carlsson, 2009;Fenlon et al, 2012).…”

“…Older breast cancer patients get information from a variety of sources (Wong et al, 2011). Recent research shows that older women with breast cancer expressed a preference for information direct from health professionals (Fenlon et al, 2012) and not prefer to use newspapers and narratives (Gaglio et al, 2012).…”

Working Toward a Decision: The Development and First Impressions of a Decision Aid for Older Women with Early-stage Breast Cancer

“…Five focus groups and a one-on-one interview were conducted with 16 women older than age 70 diagnosed with Stage I breast cancer after RT from an academic cancer centre. These findings have been reported elsewhere [27]. In brief, women identified several challenges in the decision-making process specific to three decision-making areas: (1) being diagnosed with breast cancer, (2) views of treatment options and making decisions, and (3) nonmedical considerations when making treatment decisions.…”

Information Needs of Older Women Faced with a Choice of Primary Endocrine Therapy or Surgery for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Literature Review

“…Some older patients find the type and amount of medical information they receive overwhelming [23], and they have fewer information needs [19]. Others want as much information as possible to help them better understand their treatment options and the rationale for treatment [15,26]. Other studies report older patients having a lower need for information [11, 12•, 14], with a metaanalysis revealing a trend towards younger patients preferring a more active decision-making role and having a greater need for information [57].…”

“…In contrast, Cox et al [22] found little or no difference in the need for information between younger and older patients. Several authors have concluded that information about breast-cancer treatment options needs to be age specific, relevant, and tailored to the patient [15,23,47,58].…”