Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Dec 27;3(1):73.
doi: 10.1186/s41687-019-0167-5.

Expectations of breast-conserving therapy: a qualitative study

Sarah Fuzesi  1   2 , Karima Becetti  3 , Anne F Klassen  4 , Mary L Gemignani  5 , Andrea L Pusic  6
Affiliations

Expectations of breast-conserving therapy: a qualitative study

Sarah Fuzesi et al. J Patient Rep Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: Early-stage breast cancer is often treated with breast-conserving therapy (BCT), including lumpectomy with radiation therapy. Patients' expectations of BCT remain largely unknown. Expectations affect perceptions of treatment-related experiences and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) outcomes. Our primary aim was to describe expectations of BCT among patients with early breast cancer through qualitative methods. Our secondary aim was to inform preoperative patient education and improve the patient experience through knowledge.

Methods: We used a grounded-theory approach to investigate a convenience sample of 22 women with stage I and II breast cancer who were treated with BCT at a single hospital in New York City between May and August 2016. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in person and by telephone. Open-ended questions covered participants' expectations of treatment experiences and outcomes. Data was analyzed in a line-by-line approach to identify emergent themes related to patient expectations. Interviews continued until no new themes emerged.

Results: Analysis of data identified the following themes related to patient expectations of BCT: experience of cancer care, recovery, appearance, and HR-QOL. Despite preoperative informed consent and teaching, participants expressed few expectations preoperatively, owing to a lack of knowledge about the process of care. Lack of expectations preoperatively was compensated with available care and resources postoperatively.

Conclusions: Patients in our sample had a surprisingly limited understanding of what to expect during treatment with BCT. Despite available information and preoperative teaching, patients have a clear knowledge gap regarding BCT. These findings suggest patients often undergo cancer treatment with trust rather than complete understanding of the process. This data may be used to enhance preoperative discussions aimed at preparing patients for surgery and treatment.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Breast-conserving therapy; Expectations; Health-related quality of life; Patient-reported measure; Preoperative education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual Framework
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Al-Ghazal SK, Blamey RW, Stewart J, Morgan AA. The cosmetic outcome in early breast cancer treated with breast conservation. European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology. 1999;25:566–570. doi: 10.1053/ejso.1999.0707. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Ghazal SK, Fallowfield L, Blamey RW. Patient evaluation of cosmetic outcome after conserving surgery for treatment of primary breast cancer. European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology. 1999;25:344–346. doi: 10.1053/ejso.1999.0654. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Al-Ghazal SK, Fallowfield L, Blamey RW. Comparison of psychological aspects and patient satisfaction following breast conserving surgery, simple mastectomy and breast reconstruction. European Journal of Cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) 2000;36:1938–1943. doi: 10.1016/S0959-8049(00)00197-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andrykowski MA, Cordova MJ, Studts JL, Miller TW. Posttraumatic stress disorder after treatment for breast cancer: prevalence of diagnosis and use of the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) as a screening instrument. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1998;66:586–590. doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.66.3.586. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Atisha DM, et al. A national snapshot of satisfaction with breast cancer procedures. Annals of surgical oncology. 2015;22:361–369. doi: 10.1245/s10434-014-4246-9. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources