Researchers: Boaz Hovav¹, Itzhak Zaidise¹, Shuli Bramli-Greenberg^1,2

Background: Newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients must make decisions that influence their survival and quality of life.

Objectives: Identify and analyses the factors and perceptions affecting treatment choices of breast cancer patients.

Method: Preliminary qualitative trial followed by a qualitative phone survey among Jewish women aged 30 – 75, diagnosed with cancer up to 5 years before the trial and recovered. 24 participants had depth interviews and 166 women were interviewed by phone.

Findings: The qualitative trial found that women negotiated surgical and oncological treatment extent with their physicians and left the treatment facility when they did not trust its staff. The quantitative survey found that surgeon choice was considered first or second decision criteria by most patients. Women actively chose the surgeon and hospital, as well as chemotherapy facility, whereas decisions about chemical and radiation treatments were described as passive. Many women changed treatment facility several times.

Conclusions: Patient-physician relations are critical in Breast Cancer, influencing patient's involvement in the treatment choice and patient's willingness to stay at a certain treatment facility.

Recommendations: Hospitals are recommended to allow patients to wait a few days between receiving a cancer diagnosis and first consultation meeting.
Policymakers are recommended to monitor patient moves between treatment facilities and to look for the underlying causes for these moves.

Research end date: 11/2018