Table 2.
Adjuvant treatment beliefs assessed prior to patient decision.
| Adjuvant treatment beliefs scale item and direction of statistical difference | Overall mean (SD) n = 34 | Patients opting for adjuvant treatment mean (SD) n = 14 | Patients opting for observation mean (SD) n = 20 | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beliefs more frequent in patients who opted for adjuvant treatment | ||||
| I will have done everything I can to be cured. | 3.82 (1.27) | 4.29 (1.27) | 3.50 (1.19) | .021 |
| My life will be prolonged. | 3.91 (0.90) | 4.36 (0.84) | 3.60 (0.82) | .016 |
| The risk of the disease coming back will be less. | 4.03 (0.72) | 4.43 (0.65) | 3.75 (0.64) | .006 |
| I will be actively contributing something toward my cure. | 4.18 (0.81) | 4.64 (0.63) | 3.84 (0.76) | .004 |
| My chance of being cured will be greater. | 3.94 (0.83) | 4.29 (0.91) | 3.68 (0.67) | .044 |
| I will be less worried about the disease recurring. | 3.59 (1.10) | 4.29 (0.91) | 3.10 (0.97) | .002 |
| Beliefs more frequent in patients who opted for observation | ||||
| I will take longer before I can get on with my normal daily life. | 2.50 (1.08) | 2.07 (1.07) | 2.80 (1.01) | .047 |
| I will think I am in a bad state of health. | 2.27 (0.88) | 1.86 (0.86) | 2.58 (0.77) | .026 |
| I will look awful. | 1.88 (0.88) | 1.43 (0.65) | 2.20 (0.89) | .009 |
| I will be worn out by frequent visits to the hospital. | 2.50 (1.24) | 2.07 (1.38) | 2.80 (1.06) | .032 |
| Beliefs equally prevalent in both groups | ||||
| I will experience side effects such as nausea, fatigue, and hair loss. | 3.00 (0.74) | 2.86 (0.77) | 3.10 (0.72) | .370 |
| I will recover more slowly, physically, after surgery | 2.35 (0.99) | 2.25 (1.04) | 2.42 (1.00) | .716 |
Note: Items are coded 1 = definitely not, to 5 = definitely. Differences between patients opting for adjuvant treatment and patients opting for observation were tested via 2-sample Wilcoxon test.
Values in bold indicate statistical significance.