The GAEA Initiative Survey - Executive Summary
A survey of European women with early breast cancer reveals that their information needs are not being met and that there is an unacceptably low level of patient involvement in potentially life-extending treatment decisions. The survey from The GAEA Initiative revealed that older women, those with a low level of education and those without Internet access are particularly uninformed.
Information provided to patients about adjuvant endocrine therapy is sub-optimal. Although healthcare professionals are a highly trusted source of information for women with breast cancer, these patients are not given comprehensive information about the rationale for treatment and the potential side-effects. Doctors are clearly failing some patients therefore, by not involving them in the decision about starting adjuvant endocrine therapy and by not giving them the information they need to make these decisions and this is not effective medical practice.
Well informed and active patients get better treatment and women who were the most actively involved in the decision to start hormone treatment were provided with more information on side effects and treatment duration compared to women who were not involved. Actively involved patients also received more information on the benefits of taking long term adjuvant therapy and the risk of their breast cancer returning.
Better education begins with better communication! Healthcare professionals and others involved in cancer care need to work harder to address this situation and to meet the needs of all patients with breast cancer with a particular focus on older and less well-educated women.
The survey, which is part of The GAEA Initiative, set out to determine post-menopausal patients’ knowledge about the risk of recurrence in early breast cancer, define their understanding of the purpose of adjuvant endocrine treatment, their attitudes towards adjuvant endocrine treatment and to identify their informational and support needs and how these can be met.