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Patient age is related to decision-making, treatment selection, and perceived quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Patients with breast cancer must choose among a variety of treatment options when first diagnosed. Patient age, independent of extent of disease, is also related to quality of life. This study examined the impact of patient age on treatment selected, factors influencing this selection, and perceived quality of life. METHODS: A 62-question survey evaluating breast cancer treatment and quality of life was mailed to breast cancer survivors. Responses were stratified by age (<50, 50-65, >65 years) and extent of disease. RESULTS: Of the 1,131 surveys mailed, 402 were included for analysis. There were 104, 179, and 119 women aged <50, 50-65, and >65 years, respectively. The median patient age was 58 years, and the average interval from diagnosis to survey participation was 31.5 months. CONCLUSIONS: Young women were more likely to have undergone aggressive therapies and had better physical functioning than old women. Old patients reported good quality of life and body image. Clinicians should consider patient age when discussing breast cancer treatment options.

SUBMITTER: Sio TT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4113127 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Patient age is related to decision-making, treatment selection, and perceived quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

Sio Terence T TT Chang Kenneth K Jayakrishnan Ritujith R Wu Difu D Politi Mary M Malacarne Dominique D Saletnik James J Chung Maureen M

World journal of surgical oncology 20140722

<h4>Background</h4>Patients with breast cancer must choose among a variety of treatment options when first diagnosed. Patient age, independent of extent of disease, is also related to quality of life. This study examined the impact of patient age on treatment selected, factors influencing this selection, and perceived quality of life.<h4>Methods</h4>A 62-question survey evaluating breast cancer treatment and quality of life was mailed to breast cancer survivors. Responses were stratified by age ...[more]

PMID: 25052797

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Project description:BackgroundDespite a national focus on post-acute care brought about by recent payment reforms, relatively little is known about how hospitalized older adults and their caregivers decide whether to go to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) after hospitalization.ObjectiveWe sought to understand to what extent hospitalized older adults and their caregivers are empowered to make a high-quality decision about utilizing an SNF for post-acute care and what contextual or process elements led to satisfaction with the outcome of their decision once in SNF.DesignQualitative inquiry using the Ottawa Decision Support Framework (ODSF), a conceptual framework that describes key components of high-quality decision-making.ParticipantsThirty-two previously community-dwelling older adults (≥ 65 years old) and 22 caregivers interviewed at three different hospitals and three skilled nursing facilities.Main measuresWe used key components of the ODSF to identify elements of context and process that affected decision-making and to what extent the outcome was characteristic of a high-quality decision: informed, values based, and not associated with regret or blame.Key resultsThe most important contextual themes were the presence of active medical conditions in the hospital that made decision-making difficult, prior experiences with hospital readmission or SNF, relative level of caregiver support, and pressure to make a decision quickly for which participants felt unprepared. Patients described playing a passive role in the decision-making process and largely relying on recommendations from the medical team. Patients commonly expressed resignation and a perceived lack of choice or autonomy, leading to dissatisfaction with the outcome.ConclusionsUnderstanding and intervening to improve the quality of decision-making regarding post-acute care supports is essential for improving outcomes of hospitalized older adults. Our results suggest that simply providing information is not sufficient; rather, incorporating key contextual factors and improving the decision-making process for both patients and clinicians are also essential.

Project description:ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the associations between diabetes and quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer survivors.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted at 34 Cancer Recovery Clubs across China from May 2014 to January 2015. Quality of life was measured by the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Breast Cancer Module 23 (QLQ-BR23, simplified Chinese version). Information on social-demography, diagnosis and treatment of tumors, and diabetes mellitus were collected by self-reported questionnaires. Univariate analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to assess the difference in QOL between patients with or without diabetes mellitus, and multiple linear regression models were used to examine the associations after controlling for confounders.ResultsDiabetes, both of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) significantly reduced QOL. This effect of diabetes on QOL is independent of tumor size, regional lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and tumor stage index (TNM). After adjusting for different social-demography, diagnosis and treatment of the tumor, the tumor's stage and other chronic comorbidities, breast cancer survivors with diabetes got significantly lower scores in functional dimensions (including physical, role, emotional and social functionings measured by EORTC QLQ-C30; body image (BRBI) and future perspective (BRFU) measured by QLQ-BR23, as well as economic difficulties than those without diabetes (Padjusted<0.05). Diabetic patients also obtained higher scores in symptom dimensions, including fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain, dyspnoea, insomnia, constipation and diarrhoea measured by EORTC QLQ-C30; side effects, breast symptoms and upset by hair loss measured by QLQ-BR23 (Padjusted<0.05). Compared to patients with T1DM, those with T2DM are likely to suffer more by loss of functioning.ConclusionsDiabetes was associated with the decreased QOL for breast cancer survivors.

Dataset Information

Patient age is related to decision-making, treatment selection, and perceived quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

Publications

Patient age is related to decision-making, treatment selection, and perceived quality of life in breast cancer survivors.

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