Understanding potential communication gaps between oncologists and patients with advanced breast cancer: A survey of oncologists

124 Background: About 232,670 cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the US in 2014, of which 86,088 (37%) will be metastatic advanced breast cancer (ABC). The 2013 Global Count Us, Know Us, Join Us survey found that 53% of US women with ABC wanted more time to discuss their needs during clinic visits, and 60% believe their cancer treatment options are limited. To better understand unmet patient needs and potential communication gaps with physicians, surveys were developed for women with ABC, their caregivers, and oncologists. The oncologists’ survey results are presented. Methods: The Make Your Dialogue Count survey for oncologists has 32 items. Responses are single or multiple response numeric text or rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Harris Poll conducted this online survey from June through July 2014 among randomly selected, licensed US medical oncologists who treat ≥ 5 women with ABC per month. Responses for geographic region and number of years in practice by sex were weighted to match actual proportions in the population. Results: By July 15, 2014, 228 oncologists responded. At initial diagnosis, showing care and compassion was very important to 79% of oncologists; helping patients cope with diagnosis (62%) and manage cancer symptoms (56%) and discussing expected treatment response (57%) and side effects (51%) were also very important. Most oncologists (88%) revealed that treating women with ABC has a negative emotional toll. Although 81% of oncologists believe it to be unprofessional to let their emotion affect treatment recommendations, 26% reported that their emotions kept them from providing some information. Notably, 31% of oncologists reported that in certain situations, they have not discussed with patients that ABC is incurable. Conclusions: Caring for terminally ill patients has an emotional impact on oncologists. For some, their emotions have influenced what treatments they recommend and what information they impart. Our findings show that oncologists are compassionate and share disease- and treatment-related information and highlight the need to develop communication strategies that facilitate exchange between oncologists and their patients with ABC.