Effect of advanced cancer patients’ awareness of disease status on treatment decisional conflicts and satisfaction during palliative chemotherapy: a Korean prospective cohort study

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 1309 - 1316
• Main Authors: Baek, Sun Kyung, Kim, Si-young, Heo, Dae Seog, Yun, Young Ho, Lee, Myung Kyung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-06-2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Analysis; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Awareness; Cancer; Cancer patients; Care and treatment; Chemotherapy; Cohort Studies; Decision Making; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasms - psychology; Nursing; Nursing Research; Oncology; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Palliative care; Palliative Care - methods; Patient Satisfaction; Perceptions; Prospective Studies; Rehabilitation Medicine; Republic of Korea; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult; Republic of Korea; South Korea; Patients’ awareness of incurable status; Decision making; Decisional conflicts and satisfaction; Palliative chemotherapy
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-011-1218-5

Purpose
Our purpose was to evaluate the effect of cancer patients’ awareness of their incurable disease status on decisional conflict and satisfaction with treatment choice.
Methods
In this prospective cohort study, advanced cancer patients who were offered palliative chemotherapy completed questionnaires on their knowledge of their condition, their treatment decision conflicts, and their satisfaction with their treatment decisions.
Results
We enrolled 98 patients; 94 reported that they were aware of their advanced status and 50 were not. Decisional conflicts for all patients showed a significant decrease after treatment, but aware patients were significantly more satisfied with their decision (
P =
 0.02).
Conclusion
Patients’ awareness of their incurable status was associated with greater satisfaction with their decision to receive palliative chemotherapy.