Table 3c.
Chemotherapy and hormone therapy: percentage of patients and providers who ranked each fact and goal in their top 3
| Chemotherapy/hormone therapy fact* | Patient (n = 17), % | Provider (n = 27), % | 95% CI of the difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best choice depends on medical factors and patient’s feelings about benefits and side effects | 41 | 52 | −20 to 43 |
| Realistic estimate of the risk of recurrence with CHT | 41 | 48 | −38 to 25 |
| Chemotherapy can reduce recurrence and improve survival | 12 | 38 | −52 to 0 |
| HT can reduce recurrence, improve survival in women with hormone receptor positive tumours | 12 | 33 | −47 to 4 |
| Size of the benefit from CHT depends on size of the risk of recurrence | 29 | 33 | −26 to 34 |
| Realistic estimate of the prognosis, recurrence, or death without CHT | 18 | 33 | −43 to 11 |
| 60–75% will be cancer free 10 years after surgery without CHT | 29 | 29 | −28 to 30 |
| CHT reduces recurrence more than it increases survival | 6 | 14 | −27 to 10 |
| Realistic estimate of how much CHT would help lengthen life | 29 | 14 | −42 to 11 |
| Women with serious health problems may gain less benefit from CHT | 35 | 5 | 6 to 55 |
| CH can cause short term, temporary side effects (nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fatigue) | 12 | 0 | −4 to 27 |
| CH can cause rare, serious side effects (heart problems, cancers, infection, clots) | 24 | 0 | 3 to 44 |
| HT can cause temporary side effects (hot flashes, vaginal discharge, sexual problems) | 6 | 0 | −5 to 17 |
| HT can cause rare, serious side effects (blood clots, endometrial cancer, bone loss) | 6 | 0 | −5 to 17 |
| Chemotherapy/hormone therapy goal* | Patient (n = 20), % | Provider (n = 27), % | 95% CI of the difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live as long as possible | 59 | 96 | 12 to 62 |
| Reduce the chance that the cancer will come back | 82 | 91 | −13 to 30 |
| Avoid serious side effects of chemotherapy | 29 | 41 | −41 to 18 |
| Be able to say that you did everything possible | 35 | 41 | −25 to 36 |
| Avoid serious side effects of hormone therapy | 25 | 9 | −4 to 45 |
| Do what your doctor(s) think is best | 6 | 9 | −20 to 13 |
| Avoid short‐term side effects of chemotherapy | 0 | 5 | −13 to 4 |
| Avoid lengthy treatment | 24 | 5 | −3 to 41 |
| Maintain fertility | 6 | 5 | −13 to 16 |
| Avoid short‐term side effects of hormone therapy | 12 | 0 | −4 to 27 |
Bold print denotes statistically significant difference, P < 0.05.
CI, confidence interval; CHT, chemotherapy and/or hormone therapy; CH, chemotherapy; HT, hormone therapy.
*Shortened from the original wording.