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 According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the purpose
of follow up care is to keep patients in good health, manage side
effects from treatment, find out if cancer has returned, and screen
for other types of cancer, along with providing emotional support.
Many patients in the study understood this, to some extent. “When
patients were asked about the aims of breast cancer follow-up, they
most frequently mentioned that follow-up was to detect recurrence or
give reassurance,” according to a report in Maturitas.
But 12 patients said they were somewhat uncertain about the aims of
follow-up.
And some women believed – incorrectly - that breast cancer could not
recur after two to five years of follow-up, and that recurrences
could not develop directly after or between follow-up appointments.
Dr. Annette Berendsen and colleagues at University Medical Center
Groningen in The Netherlands interviewed 61 women with a history of
early-stage breast cancer.
The women were in their early 60s, on average, and had been
diagnosed with breast cancer an average of seven years earlier. All
had undergone some type of surgery, and 39 had also received
radiation.
Many of the women reported feeling scared, worried and distressed
before follow up visits, and roughly a quarter said the appointments
made them felt anxious and as if they were dealing with their breast
cancer again. But after receiving news they were cancer-free, most
said their worries disappeared.
Some mentioned “surveillance for metastatic disease” as the reason
for follow up while others couldn’t identify different ways the
cancer could return. Women also questioned whether physical exams
and mammography could detect any signs of their cancer returning,
while others valued the tests in their follow up visits.
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Dr. Gary Lyman, who specializes in breast cancer research and
treatment at the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research,
told Reuters Health by phone, “This study confirms patients’
misconceptions of what the purpose and goals of follow up care is
all about.”
Lyman, who was not involved with the study, recommends that doctors
be clear with their patients as to why certain tests are necessary
and others aren’t.
As for patients, he urges them to ask questions.
“Have a conversation with your doctor about what follow up work
should be done, how often and why,” he said. “Find out why to fully
understand the next steps in your care.”
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/29IrLrk Maturitas, online June 23, 2016.
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