Unmet information needs and limited health literacy in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients over the course of cancer treatment

78 Background: Surgical treatment decisions for early-stage breast cancer patients are complex and often involve discussions with multiple oncology providers. However, with the increasing adoption of team-based cancer care models, it remains unknown to what extent primary care providers (PCPs) are participating in breast cancer treatment decisions and whether they feel they have enough knowledge to participate in these decisions effectively. Methods: A stratified random sample of PCPs identified by newly diagnosed early-stage breast cancer patients who participated in iCanCare Study (Georgia and Los Angeles SEER registries) were surveyed about their experiences caring for cancer patients (N = 519, 58% current response rate). PCPs were asked how frequently they discussed which surgery a patient should have, how comfortable they were with these discussions, whether they had the necessary knowledge to participate in treatment decision making and their confidence in their ability to help with treatment decision making (5-item likert-type scales). The individual items were then categorized as somewhat/often/always vs. never/rarely for analyses. Results: In this preliminary sample, 62% of PCPs were not comfortable having a discussion about surgery options with a patient newly diagnosed with breast cancer, 41% did not feel that they had the necessary knowledge to participate in treatment decision-making, and 34% were not confident in the ability to help with treatment decision-making. One third (32%) of PCPs reported discussing surgical treatment options with their newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, but 22% of these PCPs also reported that they were not comfortable having these discussions and 16% reported they did not have necessary knowledge to participate in decision-making. Conclusions: A minority of PCPs participate in breast cancer treatment decision-making and there are notable gaps in their self-reported knowledge about decision-making and confidence in their ability to help with these decisions. Efforts to increase PCP knowledge about the specifics of cancer treatments may be warranted, but further research is needed to assess the impact of PCP participation on treatment decision-making outcomes.

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Quantitative analysis of diffusion-weighted imaging in high-risk patients and newly diagnosed breast cancer patients; a systematic review

International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries ◽

10.24911/ijmdc.51-1538825110 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Basmah Altuwayjiri

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Systematic Review ◽

Quantitative Analysis ◽

High Risk ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Diffusion Weighted Imaging ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

High Risk Patients ◽

Risk Patients

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Impact of BRCA1/BRCA2 counseling and testing on newly diagnosed breast cancer patients

The Women s Oncology Review ◽

10.3109/14733400400013055 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 237-240

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Counseling And Testing ◽

Brca1 Brca2

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Prospective comparison of the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/MRI, MRI, CT, and bone scintigraphy for the detection of bone metastases in the initial staging of primary breast cancer patients

European Radiology ◽

10.1007/s00330-021-07956-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nils Martin Bruckmann ◽

Julian Kirchner ◽

Lale Umutlu ◽

Wolfgang Peter Fendler ◽

Robert Seifert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Bone Metastases ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Bone Scintigraphy ◽

Fdg Pet ◽

Primary Breast Cancer ◽

Whole Body ◽

Newly Diagnosed ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Initial Staging

Abstract Objectives To compare the diagnostic performance of [18F]FDG PET/MRI, MRI, CT, and bone scintigraphy for the detection of bone metastases in the initial staging of primary breast cancer patients. Material and methods A cohort of 154 therapy-naive patients with newly diagnosed, histopathologically proven breast cancer was enrolled in this study prospectively. All patients underwent a whole-body [18F]FDG PET/MRI, computed tomography (CT) scan, and a bone scintigraphy prior to therapy. All datasets were evaluated regarding the presence of bone metastases. McNemar χ2 test was performed to compare sensitivity and specificity between the modalities. Results Forty-one bone metastases were present in 7/154 patients (4.5%). Both [18F]FDG PET/MRI and MRI alone were able to detect all of the patients with histopathologically proven bone metastases (sensitivity 100%; specificity 100%) and did not miss any of the 41 malignant lesions (sensitivity 100%). CT detected 5/7 patients (sensitivity 71.4%; specificity 98.6%) and 23/41 lesions (sensitivity 56.1%). Bone scintigraphy detected only 2/7 patients (sensitivity 28.6%) and 15/41 lesions (sensitivity 36.6%). Furthermore, CT and scintigraphy led to false-positive findings of bone metastases in 2 patients and in 1 patient, respectively. The sensitivity of PET/MRI and MRI alone was significantly better compared with CT (p < 0.01, difference 43.9%) and bone scintigraphy (p < 0.01, difference 63.4%). Conclusion [18F]FDG PET/MRI and MRI are significantly better than CT or bone scintigraphy for the detection of bone metastases in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Both CT and bone scintigraphy show a substantially limited sensitivity in detection of bone metastases. Key Points • [18F]FDG PET/MRI and MRI alone are significantly superior to CT and bone scintigraphy for the detection of bone metastases in patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer. • Radiation-free whole-body MRI might serve as modality of choice in detection of bone metastases in breast cancer patients.

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Information needs of breast cancer patients and how educational status influence their information needs in Ghana

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science ◽

10.1177/0961000620981611 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 096100062098161

Author(s):

Benedicta Boadi ◽

George Tesilimi Banji ◽

Patrick Adzobu ◽

Stephen Okyere

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Literacy ◽

Information Needs ◽

Educational Status ◽

Health Facilities ◽

Military Hospital ◽

Specific Information ◽

Breast Cancer Patients

Health information literacy plays a critical role in self-management practices among patients living with chronic health conditions. However, there are limited studies on information needs among breast cancer patients in Ghana. This paper therefore investigated the information needs of women living with breast cancer in Ghana and how educational status influenced their information needs. The study was conducted in two health facilities in Accra, Ghana (37 Military Hospital and Sweden Ghana Medical Centre). A total of 75 breast cancer patients were conveniently selected from the two health facilities for the study. The instrument used to elicit relevant data for this study was a questionnaire using the survey design. Data was analysed descriptively. The findings of the study revealed that the information needs of the breast cancer patients investigated were centred mainly around treatment and management information and less around preventive information. The patients also ranked diagnostic information as their highest need, followed by physical care information, treatment information, psychosocial information and disease-specific information in that order. Patients with higher education reported higher information need on all the five domains compared to those with lower education. The study therefore recommended that management of health facilities make health information literacy an integral component of their treatment and management of breast cancer.

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The effects of an individualized exercise intervention on body composition in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment

Sao Paulo Medical Journal ◽

10.1590/s1516-31802007000100005 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 125 (1) ◽

pp. 22-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 54

Author(s):

Claudio Battaglini ◽

Martim Bottaro ◽

Carolyn Dennehy ◽

Logan Rae ◽

Edgar Shields ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Body Composition ◽

Resistance Training ◽

Cancer Treatment ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Exercise Intervention ◽

Exercise Group ◽

Moderate Intensity ◽

Control Group ◽

Breast Cancer Patients

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Changes in metabolism have been reported in the majority of patients undergoing cancer treatment, and these are usually characterized by progressive change in body composition. The effects of aerobic exercise programs to combat the cancer and cancer treatment-related side effects, which include the negative changes in body composition, have been extensively reported in the literature. However, few resistance exercise intervention studies have hypothesized that breast cancer patients might benefit from this type of exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine whether exercise protocols that emphasize resistance training would change body composition and strength in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING: Randomized controlled trial, at the Campus Recreation Center and Rocky Mountain Cancer Rehabilitation Institute of the University of Northern Colorado, and the North Colorado Medical Center. METHODS: Twenty inactive breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to a 21-week exercise group (n = 10) or a control group (n = 10). The exercise group trained at low to moderate intensity for 60 minutes on two days/week. The primary outcome measurements included body composition (skinfold method) and muscle strength (one repetition maximum). RESULTS: Significant differences in lean body mass, body fat and strength (p = 0.004, p = 0.004, p = 0.025, respectively) were observed between the groups at the end of the study. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that exercise emphasizing resistance training promotes positive changes in body composition and strength in breast cancer patients undergoing treatment.

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