Table 1.
Patient characteristics. Data are given as frequency (percentage).
| N=722 | |
|---|---|
| Sex | |
| Male | 457 (63.3) |
| Female | 265 (36.7) |
| Race/Ethnicity3 | |
| White | 507 (70.2) |
| Non-White | 215 (29.8) |
| Marital status3 | |
| Married/living as married | 426 (59.0) |
| Non-married | 296 (41.0) |
| Age at diagnosis (years) 3 | |
| 21-59 | 264 (36.6) |
| 60-69 | 224 (31.0) |
| 70-79 | 175 (24.2) |
| ≥80 | 59 (8.2) |
| Comorbidity score at diagnosis2 | |
| None/Mild | 437 (60.5) |
| Moderate/Severe | 285 (39.5) |
| Survival between diagnosis and death, median months (interquartile range) |
13.0 (8.5, 24.7) |
| Physician communication score | |
| 0-79 | 152 (21.1) |
| 80-99 | 202 (28.0) |
| 100 | 368 (51.0) |
| Education1 | |
| <High school | 143 (19.8) |
| High school/some college | 439 (60.8) |
| ≥college degree | 140 (19.4) |
| Number of months able to live at current standard of living if lost income1 |
|
| <1 month | 157 (21.8) |
| 1-2 months | 97 (13.4) |
| 3-12 months | 122 (16.9) |
| ≥1 year | 346 (47.9) |
| Insurance3 | |
| Veterans Affairs | 106 (14.7) |
| Private | 250 (34.6) |
| Supplemental | 237 (32.8) |
| Public | 83 (11.5) |
| None | 46 (6.4) |
| Poor performance | |
| Yes | 544 (75.4) |
| No | 178 (24.7) |
| Integrated provider organization member | |
| Yes | 281 (38.9) |
| No | 441 (61.1) |
| Cancer type | |
| Lung | 477 (66.1) |
| Colorectal | |
| Accurate understanding about whether chemotherapy might cure |
|
| Yes | 240 (33.2) |
| No | 482 (66.8) |
| Care preference | |
| Life-prolonging care | 318 (44.0) |
| Symptom-directed care | 310 (42.9) |
| Missing/not asked | 94 (13.0) |
1
Data obtained from baseline or follow-up interviews
2
Based on the self-administered Charlson index and comorbidity questions from the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study (PCOS)
3
Data obtained primarily from baseline interview; if non-response, then data obtained from medical record abstraction; if both sources missing, then data obtained from administrative data (or tracking records)