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Sharlene Gill, MD, MPH, MBA, FRCPC, highlights the importance of considering patients’ concerns ahead of treatment decision-making for advanced CRC.
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“In terms of factors that drive [patients’] treatment choices, the top 3 things were related to adverse effects, [and how they will] affect them in terms of tolerability, quality of life, and the concern about being a burden on their family. The [last] one struck me in terms of the conversations I have with my patients—often we don’t address that.”
Sharlene Gill, MD, MPH, MBA, FRCPC, a professor in the Department of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at The University of British Columbia, highlighted the importance of considering patients’ top concerns during the treatment decision-making process for advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).
A 60-question online survey was distributed to patients with advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (n = 800) in Canada, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, and Spain. The purpose of the survey was to ask patients about their experience with cancer, including how information is often communicated to them, how they’d like information to be communicated to them, and the key factors that influence their treatment decision-making. Based on the results of the survey, patients reported that although they rely on their oncology teams, they also heavily rely on friends and family and support networks, such as social media and peer support groups, Gill began. However, most patients also stated that they were not familiar with patient organization groups available to them in their respective countries, she reported. Therefore, she emphasized that this was a gap that could be closed by connecting patients with patient organizations with the support patients are seeking.
Furthermore, most respondents of the survey were younger, at an average age of 50 years, which reflected a patient population who were more likely to actively participate in a shared treatment decision-making process, Gill continued. Aspects that informed patients’ treatment choices included the tolerability of treatment, quality of life with adverse effects, and the possibility of being a burden on family members were the top 3, she said. A surprising response was that patients believed they would be a burden on their family, which is not often discussed or addressed, according to Gill. Additionally, results from the survey demonstrated that patients desire a holistic approach to address their psychosocial and financial needs, which are realistic opportunities for change when caring for patients with advanced or metastatic CRC, she concluded.
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