Table 2.
Physician and patient characteristics
| Characteristics | Patients, no. (%)a, n=147 | Physicians, no. (%)a, n=51 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | Mean (SD) | 60.0 (11.2) | 44.9 (8.1) |
| Range | 30–86 | 29–60 | |
| Race | White | 119 (84) | 42 (82) |
| Black/African American | 17 (12) | 0 (0) | |
| Other | 3 (2) | 9 (18) | |
| Gender | Male | 66 (47) | 40 (78) |
| Female | 75 (53) | 11 (22) | |
| Physician specialty | Medical oncology | 35 (69) | |
| Hematological oncology | 10 (20) | ||
| Gynecologic oncology | 4 (8) | ||
| Radiation oncology | 2 (4) | ||
| Length of relationship with current oncologist | <6 months | 47 (33) | |
| 6–12 months | 34 (24) | ||
| 1–3 years | 42 (30) | ||
| >3 years | 17 (12) | ||
| Education | 8th grade or less | 3 (2) | |
| Some high school | 7 (5) | ||
| Completed high school or GED | 30 (21) | ||
| Some college | 46 (33) | ||
| Completed college | 36 (26) | ||
| Graduate school | 18 (13) | ||
| Cancer type | Breast | 22 (16) | |
| Lung | 19 (13) | ||
| Colorectal/small bowel/esophageal | 14 (10) | ||
| Brain | 11 (8) | ||
| Lymphoma | 11 (8) | ||
| Leukemia | 9 (6) | ||
| Other | 46 (33) | ||
| Extent of disease | No disease | 15 (11) | |
| Localized | 20 (14) | ||
| Disseminated | 103 (73) | ||
| Treatment at time of visit | Chemotherapy | 76 (54) | |
| Endocrine therapy | 7 (5) | ||
| Radiotherapy | 2 (1) | ||
| No treatment | 37 (26) | ||
| Other | 19 (13) | ||
| Treatment intent | Curative | 32 (23) | |
| Disease/symptom control | 90 (64) | ||
| No treatment | 18 (13) |
a
There are missing data for some variables. Therefore, not all percentages add up to 100%.