Abstract 2597
Background
Cancer holds a huge psychosocial impact. Understanding the diagnosis and treatment gives cancer patients a feeling of autonomy and self-control. The patients’ perspective and expectations on the qualities of a medical oncologist are still poorly known.
Methods
Observational cross-sectional study of cancer patients observed in a Portuguese peripheral hospital in October 2018. When patients knew the primary tumour site, stage of disease and intent of treatment they were considered to have “Full knowledge”. Descriptive statistics and univariate analysis were performed, considering a CI of 95%.
Results
Seventy-two patients were included. Most were men (56.9%), with a median age of 60 years and 65.3% had an ECOG PS of 1. Patients reported feelings of shock (43.0%), sadness (38.9%), fear (34.7%) and courage (33.3%) when they became aware of their oncological diagnosis. About 12.5% of patients needed evaluation by Psychology/Psychiatry on the first 3 months after diagnosis, of which 2/3 had a history of depressive or anxiety disorders. The majority of patients (78%) received the diagnosis in a consultation, 12.5% in the emergency department with 4.2% being informed by their relatives (4.2%). About 90% of patients stated they knew their diagnosis while 5.6% were not sure. Correct identification of the primary tumour site occurred in 87% of patients and 81.9% knew the disease stage. Of those under treatment (n = 58), almost 20% did not understand its intention. About 54% of patients had "full knowledge" of the disease and treatments. There was no significant correlation between socio-demographic and clinical variables and "full knowledge" of the disease, and only age approached the significance level (p = 0.083). Patients mostly valued kindness (62.5%), honesty (55.6%) and knowledge (47.2%) in a medical oncologist.
Conclusions
Despite the majority of patients claiming to be aware of their disease, almost half did not understand the disease stage or treatment intention. Clear communication can contribute to a greater sense of knowledge, autonomy and adaptation to the disease, potentially influencing quality of life.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
920 - Efficacy of intravenous (IV) NEPA, a fixed NK1/5-HT3 receptor antagonist (RA) combination, for prevention of CINV following cisplatin- and anthracycline cyclophosphamide (AC)-based chemotherapy (CT)
Presenter: Lee Schwartzberg
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
5146 - Efficacy of olanzapine combination in prevention of nausea & vomiting in highly emetogenic chemotherapy
Presenter: Smitha Saldanha
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1947 - Patient-reported outcome data during real-world use of NEPA for prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in high-risk platin-receiving patients - A prospective multicenter trial
Presenter: Meinolf Karthaus
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
6163 - A study evaluating steroid induced metabolic syndrome after antiemetic dexamethasone therapy in patients received high emetic risk chemotherapy
Presenter: Hee Jun Kim
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
2154 - High incidence of nausea during initial and repeated courses if intravenous chemotherapy in patients receiving guideline consistent antiemetic prophylaxis - a prospective, observational, real world study.
Presenter: Teresa Smit
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1637 - "Randomised controlled trial of Scalp Cooling (SC) for the prevention of Chemotherapy Induced Alopecia (CIA)”
Presenter: Jyoti Bajpai
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
5351 - Performance of the ‘4S rule’ to predict short-term outcomes in cancer outpatients with unsuspected pulmonary embolism.
Presenter: David Pesántez Coronel
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
1189 - Prevalence of venous thromboembolism based on intensive screening for patients with advanced solid tumor in prospective observational study
Presenter: Shota Omori
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
4340 - Short-term outcomes of cancer patients with pulmonary embolism according to the setting (hospital-acquired vs. outpatient) at diagnosis.
Presenter: Diego Muñoz Guglielmetti
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract
4658 - Patient-reported outcomes associated with switching to rivaroxaban for the treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with active cancer
Presenter: Alexander Cohen
Session: Poster Display session 1
Resources:
Abstract